PAN - We've been hearing from psychiatrists for months, if not longer, that drumpf is mentally unfit to hold office. Unfortunately, nobody who can make a difference is listening.

Anyone stupid enough or selfish enough to think this isn't a crisis should read the stories of these beautiful babies and their families going through the pain of this disease. If they don't care about older people maybe they will realize that their careless behavior could kill an innocent child. Or maybe they'll only, finally, understand when they catch the virus themselves and infect someone they love.

The jerk licking the perfume bottles (or whatever they were) should be treated the same way as people who had AIDS who deliberately had sex with multiple partners without telling them. If I'm not mistaken, some of them were charged with attempted murder.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards says his state has the fastest growing cases of coronavirus in the world. Edwards, who has announced a stay at home order for the 4.6 million residents in his state, said on Sunday that Louisiana had seen the highest initial growth rate of confirmed cases globally. Citing statistics from a University of Louisiana at Lafayette study, Edwards said the growth rate in the state was headed for a steep upward trajectory similar to what Spain and Italy have experienced. He said Louisiana had the third highest number of cases per capita in the US behind New York and Washington respectively.

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Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said on Sunday that his state has the fastest growing cases of coronavirus in the worldAs of Sunday, the state had 837 confirmed cases and 20 deaths as a result of the virus. He said the figure of confirmed cases had increased from 100 to more than 800 in a week. 'We have the fastest growth rate of confirmed cases in the world over the first 13 days right here in Louisiana,' Edwards said. 'In the last two weeks our growth rate has been faster than any state or country in the world. This is why it matters.'If we want to flatten the curve we have to take more aggressive mitigation measures now and limit social contact now... We've got to take action now.' He said that if the disease continues to spread at its current rate, the state could run out of healthcare capacity with seven to 10 days. Edwards announced a stay at home ban for his state that will come into effect on Monday at 5pm.

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As of Sunday, Edwards said the state had 837 confirmed cases and 20 deaths as a result of the virus

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Edwards, who has announced a stay at home order for the 4.6 million residents in his state, said on Sunday that Louisiana had seen the highest initial growth rate of confirmed cases globally

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Citing statistics from a University of Louisiana at Lafayette study, Edwards said the growth rate in the state was headed for a steep upward trajectory similar to what Spain and Italy have experienced

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Residents have been asked to stay home unless they are performing an essential task like getting food or medicine. First-responders and workers in grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors' offices and other critical infrastructure are exempt from his directive, which will remain in effect until April 12, and could be extended beyond that. 'I've said this before, but there is no reason to believe that we won't be the next Italy,' he said. 'What happened in Italy is they started too late. People didn't socially distance. They thought they could just focus on that part of the country where the outbreak was heaviest.' There are at least seven nursing homes in Louisiana alone with coronavirus cases, according to Sunday's report from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Seven of the state's 20 reported deaths have been linked to one retirement home.

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Street performer Eddie Webb looks around the nearly deserted French Quarter looking to make money in New Orleans on Sunday

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Louisiana National Guard members gather information from first responders and medical personnel at a COVID-19 coronavirus Mobile Testing Center in Louisiana on Saturday

[size=34]Social distancing is dead in the water! Thousands of people in boats bunch together and party in the sea off Florida as thousands of Americans continue to flout rules to stay away from each other[/size]

Spring Breakers were seen once again partying in Florida on yachts on Sunday

Officials in Boca Raton shared images of revelers on boats near Peanut Island

One image showed at least 15 boats gathered in one spot in the middle of water

City officials have since released a statement announcing closure of the area

Thousands of Spring Breakers in Florida have once again defied a state order to stop mass gatherings amid the coronavirus outbreak as they partied on yachts at sea. Government officials in Boca Raton on Sunday shared images of revelers drinking on several boats in the waters surrounding Peanut Island.One image showed at least 15 boats gathered in one large spot in the middle of the water as passengers partied. Shortly after the images emerged, city officials released a statement announcing the closure of the area. Scroll down for video

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Thousands of Spring Breakers in Florida have once again defied a state order to stop mass gatherings amid the coronavirus outbreak as they partied on yachts at sea (pictured)

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Government officials in Boca Raton on Sunday shared images of revelers drinking on several boats in the waters surrounding Peanut Island'While Lake Boca Raton has always served as a social gathering spot for many boaters, and will again, now is not the time for parties and tie ups on the water,' Boca Raton authorities said. 'Please be patient, and do your part, so we can all get through this together.'The statement reads: 'Effective immediately, all boat ramps and marinas will be closed to all recreational boating activities to include boat launching, in/out storage activities, and boat rentals in Palm Beach County until further notice.'

Officials said that licensed commercial fishermen who provide food for restaurants and markets, commercial marine operations, and support services are permitted to operate in the area. 'While many take this seriously, some do not, and are putting others in jeopardy, including our first responders and healthcare workers,' officials said in the statement.

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One image (above) showed at least 15 boats gathered in one large spot in the middle of the water as passengers partied. Shortly after the images emerged, city officials released a statement announcing the closure of the area[size=18]Millennials may be at higher risk for catching COVID-19

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Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies will be enforcing the closures and monitoring waterways. Current guidelines call for gatherings to be limited to groups of 10 or fewer with social distancing of six feet apart. These actions are necessary to slow the community spread of COVID-19.Despite the pleas for local and federal government for young people to stay inside as the battle against COVID-19 continues, many have ignored those orders and flocked to Florida beaches instead.Thousands of Spring Breakers were seen flocking to Miami's South Beach and Clearwater Beach within the past two weeks.

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There are more than 35,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, with 471 deaths

Local officials in Clearwater Beach voted to close the area by Monday. Beaches in Naples and in other communities in southwest Florida have also been closed. Officials have warned about the importance of young people heeding the government's orders because the coronavirus not only affects the elderly and vulnerable but 'young healthy adults, teenagers & children' can also get the virus.It's also important to note that the virus can be transmitted by those who don't even have symptoms. Over the weekend it was revealed that five students at the University of Tampa tested positive for COVID-19 after traveling for their spring break, school officials said. The college students were traveling together with other UT students, but the school has not specified where they went during their break. On Friday the University posted that initially one student test positive. Then on Saturday four more students who traveled together for break tested positive. Three of those students returned to campus after their spring break travels. Those students are now self-isolating and have not been hospitalized. It's not clear if those pupils live on or off campus.

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College students across the nation disregarded warnings to social distance and remain at home in light of the coronavirus pandemic

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A skateboarder passes a 'Beach Closed' sign on the boardwalk on Sunday in Miami Beach, Florida. The city of Miami Beach has closed all parks and beaches due to COVID-19, however the boardwalk is open for people to exercise[size=18]Spring Breakers party on March 16th despite coronavirus closures

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In Florida, there are more than 1,200 confirmed coronavirus cases with at least 13 deaths. Hawaiian beaches were also packed with sunbathers despite social distancing advice, outraging residents who blame tourists for the state's coronavirus cases.Beach-goers were seen crowding the shorelines yesterday and crossing the yellow tape surrounding closed areas, armed with rubber rings and surf boards.Beach parks in Honolulu have been closed but Mayor Kirk Caldwell said he was struggling to enforce the shutdown. 'We're pretty much hunkering down in the City and County of Honolulu,' Caldwell said in a press conference yesterday. 'We don't want to have large gatherings. We don't want any gatherings anywhere in any private or public facilities.'People continue to not follow the order. We are hoping that as we go forward, people will begin to realize the the significance of the spread of this virus. 'Beaches below the high water mark are open to the public and controlled by the state of Hawaii and DLNR, and we don't have control over that.'

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Crowds of sunbathers gather on the shoreline on Saturday in Waikiki despite warnings to social distance to prevent the spread of coronavirus[size=18]Bondi Beach closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak

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Though people are still technically able to cross the beaches to enter the sea, overstretched emergency services have urged the public to stay out of the water. 'We want the public to know there are no lifeguards in the towers. We ask that you stay out of the water if possible and away from the shorelines,' an Ocean Safety spokesperson said. Beaches aren't the only places in which people have ventured to amid the outbreak.New Yorkers, who live in a city that has been dubbed the US 'epicenter' for the coronavirus, were seen out and about in parks and markets over the weekend. New York Gov Andrew Cuomo, who issued a state-wide order requiring all non-essential workers to stay home on Friday, excoriated 'arrogant' New Yorkers for ignoring social distancing rules after seeing city parks crowded with people.'You would think there was nothing going on in parts of New York City. You would think it was just a bright sunny Saturday,’ he told reporters.'I don't know what I'm saying that people don't get. I don't know what they're not understanding.

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Cuomo said he visited New York City on Saturday and was horrified to see parks crowded with people who have been instructed to limit contact as much as possible. People are seen walking through Central Park on Saturday afternoon

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A farmer's market at Grand Army Plaza outside Prospect Park in Brooklyn drew a crowd on Saturday despite warnings from officialsAlso in New York, a couple decided to get married at a Staten Island church on Sunday.There were reportedly 20 to 25 guests at the wedding, including seniors, which was held at Our Lady of Pity Catholic Church located on Richmond Avenue. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that people 65 years and older are at a higher risk for severe illness from the novel coronavirus and are encouraged to self-isolate at home and avoid gatherings. Joseph Zwilling, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New York, slammed the ceremony for violating its guidelines and said the couple should not have gone through with it at this time.As of Monday morning, there were 16,916 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York and 153 deaths.The country's top public health official, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, on Monday warned American that the crisis was 'going to get bad' this week.Despite the state of Louisiana putting a ban on large public gatherings, crowds were spotted in the French Quarter on March 15.

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Despite the state of Louisiana putting a ban on large public gatherings, crowds were spotted in the French Quarter on March 15

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Crowds of tourists walk Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 15

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People watch a street performer in the French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 15 Tourists were seen watching street performers in groups and waiting for coffee outside of Cafe Du Monde. The large crowds forced local officials to send New Orleans police to shutdown Bourbon Street. People were still gathering 'the Fly,' a popular riverside area of Audubon Park in New Orleans as recent as last Wednesday.As of Sunday, the Louisiana had 837 confirmed cases and 20 deaths as a result of the virus and the state's governor John Bel Edwards says they have the fastest growing cases of coronavirus in the world. He said the figure of confirmed cases had increased from 100 to more than 800 in a week. There are more than 35,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, with 471 deaths. Globally, there are more than 350,000 cases with more than 15,000 deaths.

People who gather in large groups should not be permitted back into the general population until they have been tested and found to not be carrying the virus. They should also be required to cover any costs related to their quarantine and testing. If they don't like it, tough! They brought it on themselves.

PAN - First, frogmarch them from wherever they're congregating into a big tent and keep them there until they test negative.

I saw online yesterday that there's a blood test that can show if a person has the antibodies for the virus.(I don't know if this is the same as the test they're using now.) That would indicate that they had had contact with the virus but hadn't gotten sick. Those people could be tested again and the people they were in contact with could be tested, too. Anyone testing negative could be sent home. The others would be quarantined.

A bit simplistic, I know, but I'm disgusted by these idiots. If I were the mayor of Tampa Bay I wouldn't let those boats dock. Let them sit on their boats and rot! - or send the Coast Guard to arrest them all and impound their boats. Something has to get through to these jerks!

[size=34]Thousands of National Guard troops hit the streets in coronavirus-stricken cities in all 50 states as the Army's Joint Task Force 2 arrives in New Rochelle to disinfect synagogue at the center of area outbreak[/size]

Some 7,300 National Guard members have been deployed to all 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico to help with coronavirus relief efforts

On Sunday President Donald Trump announced that he would be sending in more troops to the hardest-hit states - New York, California and Washington

Members of Joint Task Force 2 arrived in New Rochelle, New York, on Monday to disinfect Temple Young Israel

The synagogue was attended by a Manhattan lawyer at the center of the small city's outbreak

The National Guard has moved into cities across the United States to help with coronavirus relief efforts by distributing food, sanitizing public areas and building temporary hospitals to prepare for an influx in critical patients. At least 7,300 National Guard members have been deployed to all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico as of Sunday, when President Donald Trump announced that he would be sending in more troops to the hardest-hit states - New York, California and Washington. Trump's administration emphasized that the deployment of guard members is not martial law, but the president invoked martial language as he discussed the development. 'I'm a wartime president,' Trump said. 'This is a war — a different kind of war than we've ever had.' In New Rochelle, New York, where one of the nation's first coronavirus clusters broke out early this month, members of Joint Task Force 2 braved snowy weather as they arrived to sanitize and disinfect Temple Young Israel of New Rochelle. The synagogue was attended by Lawrence Garbuz, a Manhattan attorney who is believed to have sparked the outbreak in the area after becoming one of the first confirmed coronavirus cases in New York on March 2.

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Members of the Maryland National Guard put up temporary fencing around a section of parking lot that officials said will become a coronavirus screening site on the south side of FedEX Field on Monday in Landover. At least 7,300 National Guard members have been deployed to help with coronavirus relief efforts across all 50 states as of Sunday

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Members of the Joint Task Force 2 are seen arriving at Temple Young Israel of New Rochelle on Monday morning

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The synagogue is getting a deep clean after it was attended by Lawrence Garbuz, a Manhattan attorney who is believed to have sparked the outbreak in the New Rochelle area earlier this month

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Members of Joint Task Force 2, which is composed of soldiers and airmen from the New York Army and Air National Guard, descended on the worship center on Monday morning armed with face masks and an array of cleaning supplies

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Specialist Colby Chiverton of the California National Guard stacks boxes of food supplies to be sent out from the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services on Saturday

The National Guard stands in formation at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan on Monday after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the site would be turned into a temporary hospital facility

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A line of vehicles from the Maryland National Guard vehicles sit outside the Washington Redskins' football stadium Monday

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As of Monday there are nearly 40,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the US and 477 deathsMembers of Joint Task Force 2, which is composed of soldiers and airmen from the New York Army and Air National Guard, descended on the worship center on Monday morning armed with face masks and an array of cleaning supplies. The streets of New Rochelle, a city of nearly 80,000 people accounting for at least 180 of New York's more than 20,000 coronavirus cases, have been quiet for weeks in the midst of the outbreak. Governor Andrew Cuomo imposed a one-mile containment area in the city on March 12 as the National Guard was brought in to help clean public areas and hand out food to affected residents. Cuomo's order prompted the closure of 'all major gathering places', including 11 area schools. The one-mile radius centers around Temple Young Israel, which Garbuz is believed to have visited twice in the days before he tested positive for COVID-19.

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A one-mile containment area is in effect in New Rochelle as of March 12. The radius centers around Temple Young Israel, which Garbuz is believed to have visited twice in the days before he tested positive for COVID-19. Members of Joint Task Force 2 are seen arriving at the synagogue on Monday to sanitize and disinfect it+18

National Guard members are seen unpacking canned goods at a food distribution center +18

A crew of firemen with the Bridge City Fire Department in Texas receive orders from a National Guard officer+18

Members of the Iowa National Guard are seen coordinating relief efforts in the state last weekTrump on Sunday issued disaster declarations for New York, California and Washington state on Sunday, pledging to fund National Guard activities in each state through the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA. 'The federal government has deployed hundreds of tons of supplies from our national stocks pile to locations with the greatest need in order to assist in those areas,' Trump said. 'Through FEMA, the federal government will be funding 100 percent of the cost of deploying national guard units to carry out approved missions to stop the virus while those governors remain in command.'We'll be following them and we hope they can do the job and I think they will. I spoke with all three of the governors today, just a little while ago and they're very happy with what we're going to be doing.' Trump also said Sunday he'd ordered FEMA to ship mobile hospital centers to all three states, along with supplies such as gloves, hospital beds, N95 masks and gowns. New York has the most cases out of any state, with 20,875 confirmed and 157 deaths. Washington has more than 2,000 cases and 95 deaths, and California has more than 1,500 cases and 35 deaths. +18

Members of the Maryland National Guard control entry to a section of parking lot on the south side of FedEX Field that will become a clinic for health screenings in response to the global coronavirus pandemic on Monday+18

Army National Guard arrive at the Jacob Javits Center on Monday after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to convert the space in Manhattan into a field hospital+18

Troops receive orders inside the Javits Center, which will be outfitted with 1,000 hospital beds +18

A National Guard member wearing protective gear over their face is seen outside FedEx Field in Maryland on Monday+18

Dozens of troops gathered at FedEx Field to set up the remote coronavirus screening center

[size=34]Gov. Cuomo reveals NY doctors will trial anti-malaria drug praised by Trump TOMORROW as he pleads with retired nurses to 'enlist' in battle against coronavirus and tells people to 'settle in' to quarantine that will last 'several months'[/size]

Governor Andrew Cuomo told New Yorkers to get used to their new reality on Monday that would last months

There are now more than 20,000 cases of coronavirus in the state of New York; 12,000 in New York City

Cuomo is starting a trial with an anti-body drug he's hopeful about this week as well as using malaria drugs

He said while the numbers continue to rise, the death toll is low - of the 20,000 cases, 157 people have died

There is now a frantic scramble for hospital equipment, personnel and space to house the people infected

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York's hospitals will run out of supplies in less than seven days

President Trump said on Sunday he was sending ventilators and masks but not enough is arriving fast enough

In the US, there are now more than 39,000 cases of the virus and more than 400 people have died

Cuomo also slammed the 'bidding war' between states and the federal government for vital equipment

He wants Trump, like every other governor, to enact the Defense Production Act to federalize purchasing of equipment to keep prices down

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that he was starting trials for the anti-malaria drug touted as a potential 'miracle' coronavirus treatment tomorrow as he told Americans to 'settle in' to quarantining and warned it would last 'several months'. It came as the number of cases of coronavirus in New York City alone rose to 12,000, an increase of more than 3,000 overnight. The governor predicted the current crisis would last 'several months' more, doing away with any notion that it might be over in two weeks, as a tweet from President Trump on Sunday night suggested. Cuomo, while telling people to try to find the 'silver lining' in the situation that they'd have more time to spend with family, said New York was working on preventative measures. Tomorrow, the state's doctors will start trialing hydroxychloroquine. The drug has not yet been proven as effective in battling the virus, but President Trump drummed up excitement over it when he called it a 'game changer' last week. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House coronavirus expert, said more work was needed before it could be heralded as a solution. Cuomo said on Monday that New York is also launching a trial later this week to inject seriously ill people with coronavirus anti-bodies in the hope that it will boost their immune systems. The governor is also taking under advisement the argument that only the most vulnerable must isolate and allow younger, healthier people, to return to work. Cuomo, like other governors and mayors, is growing increasingly frustrated with President Trump for not enacting the Defense Production Act which would allow the federal government to buy everything the individual states need at a fair price and then distribute them. Instead, there is currently a bidding war going between the federal government, the individual states and foreign governments for crucial supplies like medical masks. The N-95 surgical mask, for example, used to sell for 95 cents but is now being sold for $7. The price gouging and 'opportunism' by some companies was slammed as 'disgusting' by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Fifteen states have now issued stay-at-home orders for their residents. They are; California, Nevada, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Michigan, Oregon and West Virginia.

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NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that people had to 'deal with the reality' they now face and 'settle in' to self-isolating for 'several months' [size=10][size=18]Cuomo urges positivity amidst 'new reality' of quarantine

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'The FDA gave the New York state department of health approval to use on a compassionate care bases a drug we think has real possibility. 'On the drug therapy, Tuesday we are going to start the hydroxychloroquine with the zithromax the drug combination that president Donald Trump has been talking about. 'The FDA approved the New York state department of health to proceed with an experiment of drug again on a compassionate care bases.'What it does is takes the plasma from a person who has been infected with the virus, processes the plasma and injects the anti-bodies into a person who is sick. 'There have been tests that show when a person is injected with the antibodies that then stimulates and promotes their immune system against that disease. It is only a trial. It is a trial for people who are in serious condition.

'The New York state department of health has been working on this with some of the best healthcare agencies in New York. We think it shows promise and we will be starting that this week. 'There is also work on a drug where test the anti-bodies of a person and see if they have the virus,' he said. There are now more than 20,000 cases in the state of New York, including 12,000 in the city of New York. The US now has the third highest number of infections in the world, after Italy and China, with 39,000. Four hundred people have died.More tests are being done in New York than in any other state in the US and testing rates have now surpassed those of South Korea, Cuomo said. In one night, 16,000 tests were done. That is why the number of positive cases is sky-rocketing. Of the 20,000 plus cases identified in the state, 157 people have died. Cuomo said the figures were encouraging: 'Many will get infected but few will actually pass away from this disease. 'This is all evolving and this is all evolutionary - there has to be a balance or parallel tracks that we're going down,' he said. The governor has also issued a call to action for all retired, registered nurses to come back to work, and he is mandating that hospitals increase their capacity by at least 50 percent. He wants them to aim to double it. +14

Army National Guard troops at the Javits Center on Monday setting up what will become one of several field hospitals+14

National Guard troops at the Javits Center on Monday. More than 1,000 beds will be set up there +14

The troops at the Jacob Javits Center on Monday. Gov. Cuomo has warned people to prepare for the worst [size=18]Cuomo confirms FDA approval for coronavirus drug trials in NY

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National Guard troops are seen arriving at the Javits Center, which is going to be used as a field hospital

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The troops will be tasked with setting up field hospitals in the Javits Center and in college campuses

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The Javits Center in New York City is to become a field hospital with at least 1,000 beds

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The Javits Center will become an over-spill hospital once the city's existing hospitals become overrun

[size=34]'DISGUSTING' BIDDING WAR BETWEEN STATES FOR VITAL MEDICAL SUPPLIES [/size]

Gov. Cuomo is among a chorus of city and state leaders calling on President Trump to enact the Defense Production Act in order to stop a bidding war between states for vital medical supplies.Cuomo revealed on Monday that the state of New York was being forced to bid against Illinois, Texas and California for crucial equipment like N-95 masks and that the manufacturers were jacking up the prices. The federal government is also bidding, as are foreign governments. Cuomo said that the masks cost 85 cents before the pandemic but now cost $7 each. Mayor Bill de Blasio referred to the bidding war on Monday as 'disgusting'. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told Today that he was growing frustrated with the same issue. Trump is facing mounting pressure to put the act into motion. Sources tell CNN that Trump was told by business leaders they were hesitant over it because it would harm their business. Cuomo fumed over it during his appearance at the Javits Center. 'We have been scrambling. We're buying from China, we're buying from all across the world.'Can I say that we'll have enough equipment for next week? The week after? I can't say that, and that's out of our control. That's where we're going to need the federal government.'To have states competing with other states, to find these equipment, bidding against other states, driving the price up, masks that we paid 85 cents for we are now paying $7. Why? 'Because California is bidding, Texas is bidding, Illinois is bidding, it makes no sense.'The federal government much nationalize the equipment production and supply issue'

Thirteen percent of the 20,000 cases of cases in the state are people who have had to be hospitalized. Twenty-four percent of the hospitalizations - nearly a quarter - are in ICU. The state currently has 53,000 hospital beds, including 3,000. It needs 110,000 beds and between 18,000 and 37,000 ICU beds. The Army Corps of Engineers is building hospital beds to go up in existing hospitals and make-shift facilities, like one that is being built at the Javits Center. Cuomo toured it on Monday and said the city was still in the 'calm before the storm'. 'This is going to get much worse before it gets better. You're going to see more people coming into the health system than we can handle.'Once we get through that, we'll focus like a laser on the economy,' he said, while touring the site. He said 'first order of business' was to stop the public health emergency, rather than fixing the economy. 'We can fix everything else, but we can't fix loss of health,' he said. Medical supplies are also being distributed throughout the state on Monday. Cuomo has sent out 440,000 masks, 176,000 pairs of gloves, 72,000 gowns, 92,000 face shields and 169,000 N-95 masks.Cuomo also echoed other state and local leaders slamming President Trump for now enacting the Defense Production Act which would order private businesses to produce certain items needed to combat the crisis.Instead, states are having to bid against each other and against the federal government - in addition to foreign governments - for the remaining supplies on the world's market. 'California offers $4, I offer $5, another state piles in and offers $6.'It's not the way to do it. Why are we competing? Let the federal government put in place the federal defense act. All it does is say to a factory, you must produce this quantity. 'It cant just be, "hey who wants to help?'Let me know." we need to know who is going to produce and when. That's a beautiful thing but you can't run this operation that way - it can't just be based on we're waiting for people to come forward on offers.'Yes, it's the government telling private businesses what to do. So what? This is a national emergency. You're paying them. +14

There are now several states in lockdown including New York which has the highest number of cases by far +14

A man crosses an abandoned intersection in Sunnyside, Queens, on Sunday as New Yorkers followed the 'stay at home' guidance 'You cannot continue to do these supplies on an ad-hoc basis.' Cuomo said he knew isolation would be difficult for people but he urged them to stay 'socially distant' and 'spiritually connected'. 'Deal with this reality. Understand the negative effects of this. 'These are personally negative effects. Don't underestimate the emotional trauma and pain of isolation. It is real. 'This is not the human condition - not to be comforted, close to be afraid and you can't hug someone. Billy and Steve walked in today, I hadn't seen them in months, I can't shake their hands, I can't hug them. This is all unnatural.' He said one 'silver lining' for him was that he now got to spend time with his daughter, Cara, who had come to assist the state government in its handling of the crisis. Cuomo also used video messages from Danny DeVito and Robert DeNiro, pleading with people to stay indoors. His announcement came after Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that New York City hospitals were less than a week away from running out of supplies on Monday as the city continued to battle coronavirus and became the 'epicenter' of the pandemic in the US. The city needs ventilators and protective personal equipment for doctors and nurses to ensure they can treat people without becoming infected themselves.[size=18]Trump discusses the 15 day shutdown at the coronavirus briefing

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An outdoor testing facility at St Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx on March 20 On Monday morning, de Blasio pleaded with the federal government to send help fast, and warned people would begin dying who could otherwise be saved if reinforcements did not arrive soon.'We can only get through this week if we don't get some relief quickly. We will get to a point where people can't be saved who could have been saved.

[size=34]SURGEON GENERAL WARNS: IT'S IS GOING TO GET BAD THIS WEEK[/size]

[size=14]Surgeon General Jerome AdamsThe Surgeon General has urged the nation to 'come together' to fight coronavirus and warned: 'This week, it's going to get bad' in a plea to the public to stay indoors and stop spreading the deadly disease.Dr. Jerome Adams appeared on Today on Monday morning to tell young Americans who are still going out and socializing despite being warned to stay indoors and distance themselves by 6ft.He fumed over the number of people still going out in large groups and referred to the shocking number of crowds he saw in Washington DC via a webcam set up for people to virtually enjoy the famous cherry blossom blooms.'I want America to understand. This week, it's going to get bad. We really need to come together as a nation. You're seeing young people out in beaches - here in DC.'The district set up a cam to watch the cherry blossoms. You look on the cam and you see more people than cherry blossoms. This is how the spread is occurring.'We really, really need everyone to stay at home. I think there are a lot of people who are doing the right thing. But unfortunately we're finding out a lot of people think this can't happen to them.Dr. Adams said the US demography is younger than other countries. Nearly 30 percent of the cases were among people under the age of 45.'The demography seems to be very different in the US versus in other countries. There are theories that it could be because we know we have a higher proportion of people in the US and also in Italy who vape - we don't know if that's the only cause.'It's important for people to know: You can get this disease, you can be hospitalized from this disease, you can die from this disease.'Most importantly, you can spread it to your loved ones.'Dr. Adams' warning came as Tom Bossert, former national security adviser, predicted that New York City's cases will continue to increase for the next six weeks.He believes the worst spike will come in the next two weeks.‘France, Spain, GB and US are now all on the same epidemic curve.'Pretty soon he US will become the leader because of its size in terms of reported cases and that will be a terrifying day – what I’m trying to communicate to people is that while NY is bad, the rest of the country can’t take a breath.'We’ve got a six week growth curve in NYC, the next 2 weeks will be the most aggressive multiples of 10 potentially.'[/size]

'New York City will have more than it can handle within seven days.'It's moving so fast. Even a few days ago I thought we could safely get into April... now I can't even say that. 'If we don't get ventilators this week, we are going to start losing lives we could have saved,' he warned. Trump said on Sunday that ventilators and vital supplies were on their way to New York City and that the national guard had been mobilized to help. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already told of plans to turn the city's unused public venues into field hospitals. De Blasio, who has been more frantic in his pleas for help since the pandemic began, said on Monday that he would accept a ventilator from 'anyone' who has one. 'Anyone in the USA who has a ventilator that you can get to NYC, we need it now - I will take any help from anywhere,' he said. There has been uproar over President Trump's handling of the crisis, particularly in his delay of enacting the Defense Production Act. Trump says he's using it but governors and mayors say otherwise. They claim they are being forced to bid against the federal government and foreign countries to get their hands on the ventilators they need, and that there is a pattern of 'disgusting' price gouging which hinders them. De Blasio echoed the Surgeon General Jerome Adams' earlier comment that the situation was going to become worse before it gets better. 'This week is going to be worse than the following week. 'I mean we have to be honest about this. 'This is just the beginning and I don’t mean that to be anything but blunt and honest with New Yorkers and all Americans. 'It’s the beginning of something that will get worse throughout April and into May and we’ve got to brace ourselves and we’ve got to change our lives and we absolutely need help from Washington,' he said. De Blasio said the number of beds that will be erected in places like the Javits Center - a sprawling expo center - was 'encouraging'. 'I think it could be absolutely crucial because we're at a point literally this week where our public system, the largest in the country, is getting increasingly stressed and running out of equipment. 'So, that operation at the Javits Center could be a lifesaver for us. We expect to see a lot of that up and running this week.' Gov. Cuomo said he would also turn some CUNY and SUNY campuses into hospitals. The USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship with capacity for 1,000 people, is due to dock in the city in the coming weeks. It will not cater to coronavirus patients but will take in others requiring hospital care in order to free up beds in the hospitals. New York City closed its bars and restaurants last Monday night. The state has since issued a stay-at-home order which applies to all non-essential workers. It is a move that is crippling the economy but is vital to preventing the virus from spreading. [size=18]Fauci urges caution after Trump's coronavirus treatment claim

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Cases in New York have spiked more than anywhere else in the country De Blasio said on Monday that it was necessary because the 'human cost' of not trying to stop the virus was unfathomable. 'How many members of our family, especially our older relatives, who are the people, you know, really vulnerable here – are we simply saying as a nation we're going to turn away and ignore the challenges facing them? I don't think that's right. 'I think we have to understand that if we act intensely, we can save thousands, tens of thousands of lives all over this country and stop this thing from becoming even more total and more intense.'And we have to recognize, if coronavirus was not checked in some ways and slowed then you're talking about a health care system that can't function at all, including for all the people with other challenges, with all the other health care challenges we deal with all the time. 'So I understand people who say, you know, wow, this is an extraordinary sacrifice. It is. 'But if you don't slow this thing down, they’ll sacrifice a lot more on the other end of the equation and we got to think about the human cost here,' he said.

US now has the THIRD most coronavirus infections in the world behind China and Italy, New York State has 6% and NYC has 4%Fueled in large part by the virus's rapid spread in New York, the US is now the third-most infected country in the world, with more than 39,000 cases.Only China and Italy have seen more cases of COVID-19 than the US, with 81,093 and 59,138 cases in each.New York now has nearly six percent of worldwide coronavirus cases, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo's Monday announcement.With 20,875 New Yorkers diagnosed with the virus sweeping the globe, the state has far surpassed all other states and hotspots in the US for coronavirus cases.+14

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And New York City alone has 12,305 cases, accounting for 3.5 percent people with coronavirus worldwide.Cases in the New York and country have surged as a result of both the virus's rapid spread in and outside of high-density areas like New York City and as testing capacity has ramped up steeply in the state.With 16,000 COVID-19 tests being administered a day, New York is now testing more people per capita each day than South Korea, which has set the global pace for testing.Hundreds, if not thousands, of new cases have been confirmed there on a daily basis for the past two weeks in New York and the death toll has risen to 157.The state is bracing for its hospitals to become overwhelmed, with Governor Cuomo pushing to double beed capacity, telling the workforce to stay home and beginning trials of experimental drugs for coronavirus on Tuesday.Already, 13 percent of New York residents who have tested positive were hospitalized as of Monday, Cuomo said.The majority of cases - nearly 11,000 - in the state are in New York City, where the virus has spread like wildfire in the densely populated boroughs.Other hotspots include Nassau County with 1,900 cases and Westchester, where a lawyer lives there and who worked in Manhattan became a 'super-spreader.' Now, nearly 2,000 in the county are infected.In an effort to stem the virus's spread, Cuomo ordered all non-essential businesses to close, effective 8pm Sunday.He also hit out at New Yorkers for ignoring the government's warnings to stay home and keep their distance from one another.'You would think there was nothing going on in parts of New York City,' the governor said of his Saturday tour of the city.'I don't now what I'm saying that people don't get. This is not life as usual. None of this is life as usual.'

Democrats blocked the phase three coronavirus economic stimulus package again on Monday, even though Republicans claimed ahead of the vote that they were proposing a bipartisan bill.Senators voted 49-46 Monday afternoon on the nearly $2 trillion stimulus bill – with a few 'aye' votes missing as five Republican senators self-quarantine over coronavirus fears. Although Democrats and Republicans have spent days negotiating this package, talks dissolved on the Senate floor Monday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blamed each other for holding up the relief.As the bipartisan effort in Congress continues to crumble, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing to bring to the House floor her own phase three package.The 'Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act' is a counter bill that was proposed after McConnell blames Democrats for delaying the bill's progress.Pelosi claimed in a statement that the Republican bill in the Senate puts 'corporations first, not workers and families.'Some of the measures outlined in the new bill are already included in the Senate GOP package, but Senate Democrats claim the final product of the revised Senate bill still didn't meet their minimum demands. The noon vote on an economic stimulus package dissolved Monday into a Senate floor quarrel as Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer blamed each other for delaying financial aid to American people and companies.Senate Majority Leader McConnell went on a tirade when he took the podium Monday, railing against Democrats for blocking the first version of the phase three economic stimulus bill Sunday night.

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Democrats again were able to block the GOP-backed phase three economic stimulus bill as Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer's Senate-floor statements dissolved into a partisan argument over who was holding up aid to the American people

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As the package was blocked for the second time in two days, Nancy Pelosi revealed she was unveiling a counter proposal

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday Democrats are trying to get their 'wish list' of unrelated measures passed in the phase three economic stimulus bill – which he claims is why they blocked the bill Sunday night

The Kentucky Republican insisted that Democrats are holding up money to try and get measures passed that he claims are irrelevant.'Yesterday, when the time came to vote on these urgent measures, our Democratic colleagues chose to block it,'McConnell said of the phase three bill brought up for a vote Sunday night.'Why are Democrats filibustering the bipartisan bill they helped write? An appropriate question to ask this morning as the country waits on us,' he continued. 'So let me give the American people a taste of the outstanding issues we woke up to this morning.'Schumer shot back during his statement immediately following McConnell's that he is trying to 'get things done,' while he claims Republicans are playing the partisan blame-game.McConnell shared what he called the 'Democratic wish list' of unrelated measures they were hoping to get passed with the nearly $2 trillion relief package, including tax credits for companies using solar and wind energy and setting new emission standards for airlines.'Are you kidding me?' McConnell said, clearly aggravation. 'This is the moment to debate new regulations that have nothing whatsoever to do with this crisis? That's what they're doing over there. American people need to know it.''Democrats won't let us fund hospitals or save new businesses unless they get the dust off the Green New Deal,' he criticized.Schumer said it was Republicans who were making the situation into partisan squabbles, but didn't push back that his party was trying to get things passed in the bill that weren't related to relief from coronavirus.'Every time we hear the Majority Leader come out it's a partisan screed,' Schumer asserted. 'While I'm in my office with the president's Secretary of Treasury, the president's congressional liaison, getting things done.''We Democrats are trying to get things done, not making partisan speech after partisan speech,' he continued.Steven Mnuchin urged lawmakers earlier in the day Monday to get the nearly $2 trillion package passed through Congress to continue combatting the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.'We are going to make sure we get through this and we are going to win this war,' the Treasury secretary told Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business Network Monday morning.'I want everybody to know, we need to get this legislation passed today,' he pleaded.

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged senators to get the phase three stimulus package passed Monday after the first version of the bill failed to get through the upper chamber on Sunday

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'I want everybody to know, we need to get this legislation passed today,' Mnuchin said during a phone call interview with Fox Business Monday morning, adding he was getting off the phone soon to head to the Senate to meet with bipartisan leadership thereMnuchin has been spearheading the administration's efforts to get a bipartisan bill passed. The former Democrat has worked with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the past and was able to help get the $100 trillion phase two bill passed earlier this month.'I am on my way to the Senate this morning to meet with Mitch McConnell and his team and Senator Schumer,' Mnuchin told Fox Business. 'You can ask that question to Democrats,' he said when asked why Democrats are pushing back on the bill that was already proposed. 'What I am saying is we need this to pass today.'Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Mnuchin spent all night negotiating measures both Republicans and Democrats could agree on, meeting a handful of times Sunday to get the bill ready.'Leader Schumer and Secretary Mnuchin are working late into the night, and they just had another productive meeting,' a spokesman for Schumer said in a statement after 9:00 p.m. Sunday night.Majority Leader McConnell is prepared to lay out the new bill on the Senate floor at 12:00 p.m. A bit after midnight Schumer spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill, telling them there were major 'problems' with the first version of the bill McConnell presented Sunday night. 'Huge amounts of corporate bailout funds without restrictions or without oversight – you wouldn't even know who is getting the money,' the Democratic leader said at 12:20 a.m. of the failed measure.'Not enough money for hospitals, nurses, PPE [personal protective equipment], masks – all the health care needs. No money for state and local government, many of whom would go broke. Many other things,' he continued.'So we're working hard to make them better, and we are making progress,' Schumer said of bipartisan efforts. 'We're getting closer and closer. And I'm very hopeful, is how I'd put it, that we can get a bill in the morning.'

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is brought the revised phase three economic stimulus package to the floor for a second vote Monday afternoon, but it was blocked by Democrats 49-46

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters at the Capitol after late-night negotiating that there were major 'problems' with the first version of the bill presented by McConnell

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Schumer met several times Sunday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (center) on Sunday to discuss the more than $1.5 trillion bill

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Congressional leadership met several times over the weekend to negotiate the details of the bill. McConnell's office revealed a picture of him talking with house Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinThe third phase of a stimulus package was unable to pass through the Senate Sunday as Democrats blocked the GOP measure meant to target economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.The 'ayes' fell particularly short Sunday night as five Republicans self-quarantined and were unable to go to the floor to cast their votes.The measure failed with a tie vote of 47 voting in favor of the stimulus package and 47 voting against it.Kentucky Republican Rand Paul announced Sunday afternoon that he tested positive for coronavirus, causing a handful of other GOP senators to self-isolate over fears they contracted the virus.'He is feeling fine and is in quarantine,' a tweet from his official Twitter account revealed in the statement announcing Paul's condition.'He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person,' the statement continued.'He expects to be back in the Senate after his quarantine period ends and will continue to work for the people of Kentucky at this difficult time.'Paul is the first senator to test positive for the fast-spreading respiratory disease and the third member of Congress.Representatives Mario Diaz Balart of Florida and Ben McAdams of Utah revealed last week that they have also tested positive.

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Five Republican senators are self-isolating, including Rand Paul, who's office announced Sunday that he tested positive for coronavirus – becoming the first senator to contract the disease

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Utah Senator Mitt Romney announced Sunday he was quarantining after coming into close contact with Paul several times in the last week and claimed he would be taking a test to see if he contract the virusUtah Republican Mitt Romney announced Sunday he would be self-isolating after coming in close contact with Paul several times in the last week.'Since Senator Romney sat next to Senator Paul for extended periods in recent days and consistent with CDC guidance, the attending physician has ordered him to immediately self-quarantine and not to vote on the Senate floor,' Romney's office said in a statement.The announcement came about an hour after Paul's office revealed the senator's situation.McConnell is facing extra obstacles on getting the bill passed as the Republican majority has essentially slimmed with five unable to show up for votes as they remain in self-isolation.Democrats, Republicans and Trump have all expressed they are interested in implementing a temporary measure to allow lawmakers to vote remotely as more and more self-quarantine over fears of contracting or spreading coronavirus.More than 50 congressmen and women have already signed onto a resolution proposed by California Democrat Eric Swalwell demanding that the House allow remote voting.

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The number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. have skyrocketed in the last few days as nearly the whole country is working form home and self-quarantining

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There are more than 35,000 confirmed cases and 471 deaths

The measure argues that Congress is breaking the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on social distancing by gathering hundreds of people into the same space for sessions.Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois and Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio are proposing a similar remote voting resolution on the Senate side of Congress.'We could be in a position where – I certainly would be in favor of it. Where they could vote from a certain outside location. I would be in favor of it,' Trump said Sunday during a White House coronavirus task force briefing.'I was thinking about it today, I mean we could be in this – look, with what's going on, nobody's seen anything like this. You could have a lot of people in there from Congress,' he continued. 'I would be totally in favor of it on a temporary basis.'

Russian investigators today opened a criminal case against a top infections specialist who tested positive for the coronavirus after visiting Spain but neglected to self-isolate. Irina Sannikova, an infectious disease professor and top consultant in the southern Stavropol region is alleged to have been 'patient zero' for the coronavirus there, exposing hundreds to the disease.Prof. Sannikova 'went on holiday to Spain, where she was from March 6 to 9, without telling her superiors' and did not self-isolate after her return, the Investigative Committee, Russia's federal criminal investigation unit, said in a statement.

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Irina Sannikova, an infectious disease professor and top consultant in the southern Stavropol region is alleged to have been 'patient zero' for the coronavirus there, exposing hundreds to the disease

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Prof. Sannikova (left) 'went on holiday to Spain, where she was from March 6 to 9, without telling her superiors' and did not self-isolate after her return, the Investigative Committee, Russia's federal criminal investigation unit, said in a statementShe 'continued her usual routine, giving lectures in the university, attending conferences' and was eventually diagnosed after she went into hospital on March 17 because she was feeling unwell, it said.Local governor Vladimir Vladimirov on Sunday said on Instagram that Prof. Sannikova's infection was confirmed, as angry commentators called for her to be put on trial and banned from working again in medicine.

By Monday, some 350 people who been in contact with Prof. Sannikova were under monitoring, with at least 11 suspected of having contracted COVID-19, regional officials said.Russia has so far reported 438 new coronavirus infections, most of them in Moscow. One person who was infected has died but officials are not linking the death to the virus.

[size=34]BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump says he WILL reconsider national lockdown within days and says America 'will be open for business a lot sooner than three or four months' claiming the numbers are going to DECREASE[/size]

President Donald Trump said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days

He's indicated he supports ending distancing when the 15 day mark arrives

'America will, again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon,' he said

'At the end of the 15-day period, we'll make a decision,' he said

The president spent the morning retweeting demands from people to reopen

Medical experts, including Dr. Tony Fauci, have warned that it may take 'several weeks' of social distancing to slow the spread of the coronavirus

President Donald Trump said Monday he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days and promised America will be open for business 'very soon.'The president has indicated he supports a return to normal life.'America will, again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon,' President Trump said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing. 'A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. Lot sooner. We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. We're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem.'Trump announced a new set of policies on Monday, March 16, meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus, that included closing restaurants and no social gatherings over 10 people. He said that situation will be reassessed at the 15-day mark, which would be early next week. Some medical experts have warned the United States needs to practice extreme containment measures for several weeks or months to ensure the spread of the virus is stopped.'At the end of the 15-day period, we'll make a decision as to which way we want to go. Where we want to go. The timing. And essentially, we're referring to the timing of the opening. Essentially, the opening of our country. Because we have it pretty well shut down in order to get rid of this invisible enemy,' he said of the coronavirus. The United States has had more than 41,000 cases of the virus but Trump said those numbers will start to decrease. 'Obviously, the numbers are going to increase with time. And then they're going to start to decrease. And we are going to be opening our country up for business because our country was meant to be open,' he said.

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President Donald Trump said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days

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The area in front of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, where tourists often line up to take photos, is shown empty as most businesses in the area are closed as a result of the statewide shutdown due to the spread of the coronavirus

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A man crosses trafficless section of Queens Blvd in the Sunnyside section of Queens, NY, after a 'stay home' order and the closing of all non-essential businesses

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Families practice social distancing while waiting in line at West Oakland Middle school in Oakland, California, to pick up 'grab and go' meals during the coronavirus shutdown

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People descend down the Bethesda Metro train station escalator at commuter rush hour, as Governor Larry Hogan ordered the shutdown of all bars and eateries in Maryland

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A sign announcing the closure of the Koret Playground is seen in Golden Gate Park in CaliforniaPresident Trump has been clear he's worried about the economic affect coming from all the businesses being shuttered because of the pandemic. Numerous states have closed restaurants, gyms, bars, and clubs. The hospitality industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. States like California and New York have advised people to stay home as much as possible. He argued Monday a bad economy could also cause death.'You have almost 160 million jobs in this country now, by far the most ever. The number of jobs, almost 160 million, so we can't turn that off and think it's going to be wonderful. There'll be tremendous repercussions. There will be tremendous death from that. You're talking about death. Probably more death from that than anything we're talking about with respect to the virus,' he said. Some experts have predicted the U.S. could experience up to 20 per cent or 30 per cent unemployment because of the coronavirus. But the president said it would not be just an economic decision to reopen, promising medical experts would have input. 'We, also, have a large team working on what the next steps will be once the medical community gives a region the okay. Meaning the okay to get going, to get back, let's go to work,' he said. But he said he's told his team if it were up to the health care professionals, they would close the 'entire world.' 'I was telling them, if it was up to the doctors, they would keep it shut down, they would say "let's shut down the entire world."' You can't do that,' he said.President Trump has taken up the argument that the cure cannot be worse than the disease, referring to the damage inflicted on the U.S. economy.'I think the cure has been very tough. This has been very tough,' he said Monday at the briefing. 'This was an operation. This was somebody going to a doctor and saying you need an operation, and you've had an operation and we've learned a lot. And we've fixed a lot of problems.'He also argued Americans have learned a lot about preventing disease, such as washing hands and keeping six feet away from one another. Trump said such practices may continue long after the coronavirus is gone.'We've learned a lot. There's a great discipline this whole country has learned having to do with discipline, with shaking hands. I think a lot of it is going to stay long after the virus is gone. I think it's probably good practice anyway but I think it's going to stay long after the virus is gone. But we have to open our country,' he said.Earlier Monday, the president retweeted demands from people to be allowed to go back to work when the 15 days his administration recommended are finished. Trump's push for a return to normal comes as the economy is tanking and Dr. Tony Fauci, a leading expert on infectious diseases who is part of the White House's coronavirus task force, warned that social distancing may last 'several weeks.'Additionally, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams warned Monday it get worse.'This week, it's going to get bad,' Adams told NBC's 'Today Show.' 'We really, really need everyone to stay at home.'He advised patience. 'We know it's going to be a while before life gets back to normal,' he told CBS 'This Morning.' Trump, however, took to social media Monday morning, where he retweeted a variety of people with a different view, including a sex counselor who wrote: 'The fear of the virus cannot collapse our economy that President Trump has built up. We The People are smart enough to keep away from others if we know that we are sick or they are sick! After 15 days are over the world can begin to heal!'He also pushed another suggestion that only high-risk groups isolate after the 15 days in the guidelines he recommended have expired: '15 days. Then we isolate the high risk groups and the rest of us get back to work before it's all over for everyone!!'

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U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams warned Monday the coronavirus situation is going to get worse and advised people to stay home

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[size=10][size=18]Trump discusses the 15 day shutdown at the coronavirus briefing

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The president's advocating a return to work comes as federal reserve board member warned unemployment could hit 30 per cent because of the virus and Federal Reserve announced new programs Monday morning to keep businesses afloat. It also reflects an increasing fear that the medical precautions have devastated the economy.Trump is basing his re-election effort on a strong U.S. economy. The president hinted at his changing thought pattern late Sunday night when he said the administration will make a decision at the end of a 15-day period on 'which way we want to go' to fight coronavirus, implying that the country could re-open. 'We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself,' he said on Twitter. That tweet reflects advice offered by conservative commentator Steve Hilton, the former communications director for ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron.Hilton wrote in an op-ed for Fox News that 'You know, that famous phrase? 'The cure is worse than the disease.' That is exactly the territory we are hurtling towards. You think it is just the coronavirus that kills people? This total economic shutdown will kill people.'

He argued that 'a family thrown out of their home -- the mom gets sick, the kids are orphans -- her death won't be counted. The dad who has been out of work for 30 years and finally got a job last month, and now he is back on the scrap heap and turning back to drinking and drugs -- his death won't show up in a neat little box on cable news. Poverty kills. Despair kills. This shutdown is deadly.''Keep the ban on large gatherings, but stop the total shutdown for everyone and start the total protection of the elderly and those most likely to need hospitalization. Don't turn a public health crisis into America's worst catastrophe,' he concluded. 'Save small businesses. Flatten the curve, but not the economy, and do it before it's too late.'But Trump's position conflicts with that of Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who warned on Friday that the isolation may need to continue.'If you look at the trajectory of the curves of outbreaks in other areas it's at least going to be several weeks,' he told NBC's 'Today Show.''I cannot see that all of a sudden next week or two weeks from now it's going to be over,' he said. 'I don't think there's a chance of that — I think it's going to be several weeks.'

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Medical experts, including Dr. Tony Fauci, have warned that it may take 'several weeks' of social distancing to slow the spread of the coronavirus[size=18]Cuomo urges positivity amidst 'new reality' of quarantine

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The White House, in guidelines released last week, discouraged gatherings of 10 or more people and urged bars and restaurants to close. Trump has said that recommendation would be revisited on 'Day 14' as to whether or not it needs to continue. Hard hit areas, such as New York, California, and Illinois, have even tougher restrictions where residents have been told to stay at home.There have been more than 33,000 cases across the U.S. and more than 400 deaths. The disconnect between the president and medical experts come as Fauci admitted that he has to tell President Trump facts four times to get his point across and that he will 'keep pushing' to correct any inaccuracies about the coronavirus that are relayed by the White House.The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in an interview with Science that 'when you're dealing with the White House, sometimes you have to say things 1,2,3,4 times, and then it happens. So I'm going to keep pushing.'He said that he tries to correct Trump when the president makes errors but he 'can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down.' He also criticized the president for publicly shaking hands with people, saying: 'I say that to the task force. I say that to the staff. We should not be doing that.''Not only that - we should be physically separating a bit more on those press conferences.' His comments come just one day after he admitted he has been 'walking a fine line' by publicly contradicting Trump in an interview with the New York Times.

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Dr. Tony Fauci said he has to tell President Trump things as many as four times before it will sink in

Dr Anthony Fauci was caught smirking at President Donald Trump during a coronavirus press conference on Friday, further fueling rumors of tension between the pair[size=18]Tony Fauci dismisses Trump's claim malaria drugs are a 'game changer'

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He was also forced to publicly row back on the president's claims that the anti-malarial drug cloroquine offered a potential cure for coronavirus in the latest of a series of public rebukes.He said that telling Trump 'things he doesn't want to hear' was a 'risky business.'Fauci said that he tried not to 'embarrass Trump' and said that he attempts to deal with the president by 'continually' talking about scientific facts.

'I don't want to act like a tough guy, like I stood up to the president,' he said.'I just want to get the facts out. And instead of saying, 'You're wrong,' all you need to do is continually talk about what the data are and what the evidence is.' The health expert admitted that the tactic was 'risky' but maintained: 'I say it the way it is, and if he's gonna get pissed off, he's gonna get pissed off. 'Thankfully, he is not. Interestingly,' he said. And Fauci insisted that Trump was not offended by his advice.He told the Times: 'He's a smart guy. He's not a dummy. So he doesn't take it — certainly up to now — he doesn't take it in a way that I'm confronting him in any way. He takes it in a good way.' Fauci said that he had been working round the clock as the coronavirus crisis unfolds. As of Sunday night, there were 35,214 confirmed cases in the U.S. of the infection, which was blamed for 471 known deaths. 'I'm exhausted,' he said. 'About a week ago, I was going about four or five days in a row on about three hours of sleep, which is completely crazy 'cause then I'll be going on fumes. 'The last couple of nights, I've gotten five hours' sleep, so I feel much better.' In response to speculation that he had been banished from the White House when he disappeared from press briefings for two days in the past week , he said: 'That's kind of funny but understandable that people said, 'What the hell's the matter with Fauci?' because I had been walking a fine line.

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Dr. Fauci said President Trump isn't offended by his advice as he's a 'smart guy' who takes it in the right way it is meant 'I've been telling the president things he doesn't want to hear. I have publicly had to say something different with what he states.'On Friday Fauci appeared to roll his eyes and suppress laughter as Trump lashed out at the State Department, describing them as the 'Deep State department'.Dr Fauci then placed his hand over his face, in what many described as a 'face palm' reaction to Trump's inflammatory remarks.Video of the incident was shared across Twitter, with many commenting on the doctor's body language. In recent weeks, Dr Fauci has garnered a reputation for repeatedly contradicting Trump's claims about coronavirus.On Thursday, the president said that there had been positive results after doctors trialed chloroquine on COVID-19 patients, and suggested the drug could be a 'game-changer'.'It's shown very, very encouraging early results. We're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately. It's been approved,' Trump said. However, a few hours later Fauci told CNN: 'There's no magic drug for coronavirus right now'.'Let me put it into perspective for the viewers .. there has been anecdotal non-proven data that it [chloroquine] works... but when you have an uncontrolled trial you can never definitely say that it works'.

I think it's time we put drumpf and his cronies in lockdown and took away his Twitter privileges. He's a menace and if he goes ahead with his plans to goose the economy he's going to get a lot of people killed.

[size=34]My husband and I tried to take Trump's coronavirus drug - now he is dead: Wife speaks out after they drank fish tank cleaner chloroquine because they mistook it for unproven treatment hydroxychlorquine[/size]

The couple, both in their 60s and from Arizona, were hospitalized after ingesting chloroquine phosphate, an additive often used at aquariums to clean fish tanks

The man died and his wife was left in critical condition as a result

It's believed that they confused the chemical with hydroxychloroquine, an antimalaria drug that's shown promising results in treating coronavirus patients

'We were afraid we were getting sick. We were getting really worried,' she said

They had been self isolating before taking a teaspoon of the chemical with soda

Trump drummed up hype over hydroxychloroquine calling it a 'game changer'

But the drug has not yet been proven as effective in treating coronavirus

'Trump kept saying it was pretty much a cure', the unidentified wife said Monday

has spoken out after she and her husband both drank a fish tank cleaner called chloroquine - thinking it was the potential coronavirus treatment called hydroxychloroquine that Donald Trump has promoted at his press conferences - and her husband died.

The unidentified woman and her husband, both in their 60s, ingested chloroquine phosphate, confusing it with hydroxychloroquine, an antimalaria drug that's shown promising results in treating COVID-19 patients.Her husband died and she was left in critical condition after drinking the chemical. The woman told NBC: 'We were afraid we were getting sick. We were getting really worried.' She said they had been self isolating before each taking a teaspoon of the toxic chemical with soda. She added: 'We saw his [Trump's] press conference. It was on a lot, actually. Trump kept saying it was pretty much a cure. Referring to hydroxychloroquine she said: 'They kept saying that it was approved for other things.'

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A man has died and his wife is under critical care after they ingested chloroquine phosphate, a chemical found commonly found in fish tank cleaner, thinking it was the miracle coronavirus cure President Donald Trump has been touting at his press conferences

Vaughn Hillyard

@VaughnHillyard

[ltr]"Please educate the people."

I just spoke with the AZ woman who, along with her husband, consumed chloroquine phosphate.

@NBCNewsReplying to @NBCNewsArizona man dies after ingesting chloroquine in an attempt to prevent coronavirus. https://nbcnews.to/2UJwKjF

There are no drugs approved to try to prevent or treat the new coronavirus. Self-medicating to prevent the coronavirus can be dangerous and possibly deadly.

1508:47 PM - Mar 23, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy

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123 people are talking about this

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The woman, who had chloroquine phosphate in the house because she kept koi fish, added: 'I was in the pantry and i saw it sitting on the back shelf and I said "hey isn't that stuff they were talking about on tv".

Explaining how they both fell ill within minutes, becoming dizzy and hot, she warned: 'He got so bad so fast. Don't take anything. Don’t believe anything that the president says and his people, be so careful. Call your doctor.'I was holding his hand. He died while they were working on him in ER.'This is a heartache i will never get over. My husband was my whole life, it feels like, like my heart is broken & it’ll never mend. It’s just broke. Dead.'Like my husband. Please educate the people.' [size=18]Trump says new drugs to start being used in fight against COVID-19

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President Donald Trump touted chloroquine as a 'miracle drug' at a press conference last week, but Dr Anthony Fauci, the White House coronavirus expert, quickly followed Trump's comments by saying more work was needed before it could be heralded as a solution

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'Given the uncertainty around COVID-19, we understand that people are trying to find new ways to prevent or treat this virus, but self-medicating is not the way to do so,' said Dr Daniel Brooks, Banner Poison and Drug Information Center medical director. 'The last thing that we want right now is to inundate our emergency departments with patients who believe they found a vague and risky solution that could potentially jeopardize their health.' Experts noted that the majority of people diagnosed with the novel coronavirus would recover without complications, and that 'the routine use of specific treatments, including medications described as "anti-COVID-19", is not recommended for non-hospitalized patients'. 'We are strongly urging the medical community to not prescribe this medication to any non-hospitalized patients,' Brooks said.

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New York state officials are expected to begin trials with hydroxychloroquine on Tuesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced at a press conference Monday (pictured)Hydroxychloroquine has not yet been proven as effective in battling COVID-19, but President Trump drummed up excitement over it when he called it a 'game changer' last week. Dr Anthony Fauci, the White House coronavirus expert, quickly followed Trump's comments by saying more work was needed before it could be heralded as a solution. New York state officials are expected to begin trials with the medication on Tuesday, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo. Meanwhile, many people across the US have praised the drug and credited it with saving their lives - albeit after they were prescribed it by doctors.

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Read more:

Man dies after ingesting chloroquine in an attempt to prevent coronavirus

[size=34]Millions could die and hospitals will be totally overwhelmed if America ends the coronavirus lockdown early, says Johns Hopkins pandemic expert as he leads outcry at Trump's suggestion that the US could 'open for business' within DAYS[/size]

Tom Inglesby tweeted his fears after the president said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days

He tweeted a thread aimed at 'anyone advising the end of social distancing'

'COVID would spread widely, rapidly, terribly, could kill potentially millions in the yr ahead with huge social and economic impact across the country' he said

Trump said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within days

He's indicated he supports ending distancing when the 15 day mark arrives

'America will, again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon,' he said Monday

President Trump complained about the caution brought by health care professionals, saying he told his team they would close the 'entire world'

A health expert on Monday warned that coronavirus will 'spread widely, rapidly, terribly and millions could die' if Donald Trump lifts lockdowns in the United States early. Tom Inglesby, a director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tweeted his fears after the president said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days. Inglesby tweeted a thread aimed at 'anyone advising the end of social distancing' .He wrote: 'COVID would spread widely, rapidly, terribly, could kill potentially millions in the yr ahead with huge social and economic impact across the country.'The president has indicated he supports a return to normal life.'America will, again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon,' President Trump said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing Monday. He added: 'A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. Lot sooner. We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. We're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem.'As the president talked economics and down played the medical portion, he was surrounded by fewer than usual numbers of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Attorney General Bill Barr and Dr. Deborah Birx were present. Dr. Tony Fauci, the nation's foremost expert in infectious diseases, was not. In recent weeks, Dr Fauci has garnered a reputation for repeatedly contradicting Trump's claims about coronavirus.

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Tom Inglesby, a director at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security, warned that coronavirus will 'spread widely, rapidly, terribly and millions could die' if lockdowns are lifted

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Inglesby, who is listed as specializing in pandemics and infectious diseases, said in his tweets: 'How do we gain time to let hosps get more supplies & prepare for high number of pts? How do we lower the speed of spread of COVID in US? How do we lower odds that ICUs will run out of vents, hospitals run out of space? The answer for now is large scale social distancing.'He warned: 'To drop all these measures now would be to accept that COVID pts will get sick in extraordinary numbers all over the country, far beyond what the US health care system could bear.'

He also said: 'Many models report that health care systems will be completely overwhelmed/collapse by the peak of cases if major social distancing is not put in place.''For now we need to keep production running, doctors offices working, groceries, pharmacies, banks open. It is ok to have science informed dialogue about which businesses need to be closed vs what can stay open in some way if social distancing can be put in place in them', Inglesby wrote. 'But we need to press ahead for now w closed schools, mass telecommuting, no gatherings, strong advisory to stay home unless you need to go out – all are needed to slow this epidemic. Other experts have also rushed to condemn lifting lockdowns early. Former Barack Obama health official told Politico: 'It is way too early to even consider rolling back any guidelines. With cases and deaths rising by the day, the country must double down, not lighten up, on social distancing and related measures.' Trump, meanwhile, has complained about the caution brought by health care professionals, saying he told his team they would close the 'entire world.' 'I was telling them, if it was up to the doctors, they would keep it shut down, they would say "let's shut down the entire world."' You can't do that,' he said.[size=10][size=18]Trump says US will open 'much sooner' than three to four months

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President Donald Trump said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days

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President Trump would not promise to listen to advice from Dr. Tony Fauci when it came to ending his 15-day social distancing programThe president argued the nation could watch 'hot spots' were there high levels of infection while opening other parts of the country.'We're going to be watching very closely the hot spots. We're going to be taking care and watching closely our senior citizens, especially those with a problem or illness. We're going to be watching them very, very closely. And we can do that and have an open economy, have an open country,' he said. Trump was asked if Fauci agreed with his emphasis on the economy. 'He doesn't not agree,' the president replied. Trump announced a new set of policies on Monday, March 16, meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus, that included closing restaurants and no social gatherings over 10 people. He said that situation will be reassessed at the 15-day mark, which would be early next week. Some medical experts have warned the United States needs to practice extreme containment measures for several weeks or months to ensure the spread of the virus is stopped.'At the end of the 15-day period, we'll make a decision as to which way we want to go. Where we want to go. The timing. And essentially, we're referring to the timing of the opening. Essentially, the opening of our country. Because we have it pretty well shut down in order to get rid of this invisible enemy,' he said of the coronavirus. The United States has had more than 41,000 cases of the virus but Trump said those numbers will start to decrease. 'Obviously, the numbers are going to increase with time. And then they're going to start to decrease. And we are going to be opening our country up for business because our country was meant to be open,' he said.

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The area in front of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, where tourists often line up to take photos, is shown empty as most businesses in the area are closed as a result of the statewide shutdown due to the spread of the coronavirus

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A man crosses trafficless section of Queens Blvd in the Sunnyside section of Queens, NY, after a 'stay home' order and the closing of all non-essential businesses

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Families practice social distancing while waiting in line at West Oakland Middle school in Oakland, California, to pick up 'grab and go' meals during the coronavirus shutdown

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People descend down the Bethesda Metro train station escalator at commuter rush hour, as Governor Larry Hogan ordered the shutdown of all bars and eateries in Maryland

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A sign announcing the closure of the Koret Playground is seen in Golden Gate Park in California

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People walk at safe distances on Venice Beach in CaliforniaPresident Trump has been clear he's worried about the economic affect coming from all the businesses being shuttered because of the pandemic. Numerous states have closed restaurants, gyms, bars, and clubs. The hospitality industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. States like California and New York have advised people to stay home as much as possible. He argued Monday a bad economy could also cause death.'You have almost 160 million jobs in this country now, by far the most ever. The number of jobs, almost 160 million, so we can't turn that off and think it's going to be wonderful. There'll be tremendous repercussions. There will be tremendous death from that. You're talking about death. Probably more death from that than anything we're talking about with respect to the virus,' he said. Some experts have predicted the U.S. could experience up to 20 per cent or 30 per cent unemployment because of the coronavirus. But the president said it would not be just an economic decision to reopen, promising medical experts would have input. 'We, also, have a large team working on what the next steps will be once the medical community gives a region the okay. Meaning the okay to get going, to get back, let's go to work,' he said.

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President Trump has taken up the argument that the cure cannot be worse than the disease, referring to the damage inflicted on the U.S. economy. Earlier Monday, the president retweeted demands from people to be allowed to go back to work when the 15 days his administration recommended are finished. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams warned Monday it get worse.'This week, it's going to get bad,' Adams told NBC's 'Today Show.' 'We really, really need everyone to stay at home.'He advised patience. 'We know it's going to be a while before life gets back to normal,' he told CBS 'This Morning.'

[size=34]CDC blunders caused critical shortage of coronavirus tests that crippled the United States' response to stop the outbreak from spreading, say experts[/size]

Ever since first Covid-19 case was detected in the US on January 20, the government’s blunders in creating and distributing tests crippled the response

Number of tests performed per day is still limited and varies by testing facility

As more private labs begin testing there is no centralized database of numbers

South Korea has tested more than 320,000 people and has even set up drive-though testing stations for people to access compared to 40,000 in the US

Regulatory and technical hurdles accounted for early delays but now there are still not enough test kits or enough protective equipment for testers, nor swabs for sampling or reagents to extract genetic material from the virus

The end result is there may never be a true idea as to how many people are infected with the coronavirus or how fast the virus is spreading

A series of missteps at the nation's top public health agency caused a critical shortage of reliable laboratory tests for the coronavirus, hobbling the federal response as the pandemic spread across the country like wildfire, an Associated Press review found.President Donald Trump assured Americans early this month that the COVID-19 test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is 'perfect' and that 'anyone who wants a test can get a test.' But more than two months after the first U.S. case of the new disease was confirmed, many people still cannot get tested.In the critical month of February, as the virus began taking root in the U.S. population, CDC data shows government labs processed 352 COVID-19 tests - an average of only a dozen per day.'You cannot fight a fire blindfolded,' Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said at a recent briefing. 'We cannot stop this pandemic if we don´t know who is infected.'

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Wide scale testing is a critical part of tracking and containing coronavirus but the U.S. effort has been plagued by a series of missteps, including accuracy problems with the test kitsThe Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the CDC, has begun an internal review to assess its own mistakes. But outside observers and federal health officials have pointed to four primary issues that together hampered the national response - the early decision not to use the test adopted by the World Health Organization, flaws with the more complex test developed by the CDC, government guidelines restricting who could be tested and delays in engaging the private sector to ramp up testing capacity.Combined with messaging from the White House minimizing the disease, that fueled a lackluster response that missed chances to slow the spread of the virus, they said.'There were many, many opportunities not to end up where we are,' Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the director of the Global Health Institute at Harvard, told the AP. 'Basically, they took this as business as usual. ... And that´s because the messaging from the White House was `this is not a big deal, this is no worse than the flu.´ So that message basically created no sense of urgency within the FDA or the CDC to fix it.'

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Even as private labs have been cleared by government regulators to process tens of thousands of additional tests in the last two weeks, experts warn that the nation is still falling well short of enough testing capacity to keep ahead of the highly contagious virus. And it can often take a week just to get results back.Trump last week rated his administration´s response to the crisis as a perfect 10. However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the CDC's system wasn't designed to test for and track a widespread outbreak, which he characterized as 'a failing.'In interviews with the AP, two federal health officials with direct knowledge of the situation said CDC experts don't know why many of the agency´s test kits failed to reliably detect the virus. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about what went wrong.

J. Stephen Morrison, a health policy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, called the testing issues a 'debacle,' contributing to what he described as a confused and delayed federal response to the crisis.As a result, he said, the CDC has now been marginalized within the White House - a worrisome development.'CDC has generally been regarded as the best in the game,' Morrison said. 'I don´t think they anticipated the technical difficulty, or the speed with which the virus has been moving. The virus was racing out ahead of them.'On New Year´s Eve, Chinese scientists informed the World Health Organization about a cluster of 27 pneumonia cases of unknown cause in the industrial megalopolis of Wuhan that they linked to the city´s wholesale fish market. Less than two weeks later, the Chinese had sequenced the virus´ genetic makeup and shared it with the world.

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In California, a free testing facility opened up to the public, pictured. At other testing sites, such as New Jersey, testers were overwhelmed by the response and had to send people awayWithin days, German scientists had developed a test that could identify a unique part of the virus' DNA. The WHO quickly adopted the German test, publishing technical guidelines on Jan. 17 and working with private companies to produce testing kits.As they have done with some past outbreaks, officials at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta decided to develop their own test, focusing on three gene targets distinct from what the WHO used. Over the decades, the headquarters lab had built a track record of being among the first to develop tests for new diseases and quickly making them available for disease tracking.The CDC published the technical details for its COVID-19 test on Jan. 28, 10 days after the WHO. By then, the virus had already been in the U.S. for at least two weeks.The 35-year-old man who would become the first American to test positive had arrived in Seattle on January 15, following a trip to Wuhan. After swabs from his nose and throat were flown to the CDC lab, federal officials announced the results January 21.

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Number of tests performed per day is still limited and varies by testing facility. As more private labs begin testing there is no centralized database of numbersIn an interview on CNBC the following day, the president was asked about the risk to the nation.'We have it totally under control,' he said. 'It´s one person coming in from China. ... It's going to be just fine.'With limited capacity at the CDC lab in Atlanta, the agency placed strict criteria on who could be tested: people with fevers, coughing or difficulty breathing who had also visited Wuhan within the preceding two weeks or who had close contact with someone already confirmed or under investigation for having the virus.On January 30, the day WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency, Trump again assured the American people that the virus was 'very well under control.'Then he departed for a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, where he tweeted a photo of himself playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach.'Getting a little exercise this morning!' the president wrote.The following day, the U.S. declared its own emergency. Still, U.S. citizens returning from China who did not have a fever weren´t tested for the virus but were encouraged to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.At that point, the CDC had confirmed just eight cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. The agency amended its testing criteria to include people with fevers who had traveled to China, rather than specifically just Wuhan.

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American 'open for business' in days by confining lockdowns to 'hot spots'Four days after the U.S. declared a state of emergency, only 178 patients had been tested and 82 others were listed as 'pending,' meaning they were awaiting final results, according to CDC data released at the time.To help increase the number of people being screened, the Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization for CDC-certified labs run by state health departments to begin processing swabs, and they were provided with kits that could test 250 patients.As the first tests were processed at the state labs, technicians reported getting inconclusive results, which the CDC has said could be due to the test looking for signs of generic coronaviruses, of which there are many, rather than the specific virus that causes COVID-19.Whatever the reason, by mid-February, only about a half-dozen state and local public health labs had reliable tests. But still, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield continued to insist his agency had developed 'a very accurate test.''We found that, in some of the states, it didn't work,' Redfield said earlier this month. 'We figured out why. I don´t consider that a fault. I consider that doing quality control. I consider that success.'The testing problems emerged just as the CDC broadened its criteria to include patients who were 'severely ill' with COVID-19 symptoms 'even if a known source of exposure has not been identified.'As more sick people sought to be tested, many states were forced to limit access because of the flawed CDC test. Accounts began to emerge through social media of people with all the symptoms of COVID-19 who either couldn´t get tested or had test results delayed by days or even a week.'I know of doctor friends of mine who have critically ill patients in the ICU, and we don´t know if they have COVID or not because we can´t get a test,' Jha said last week.On February 24, exasperated officials at the Association of Public Health Laboratories sent a letter to the FDA, basically asking permission for state labs to develop their own tests. Within days, the FDA reversed its previous position and said both public and private labs could conduct testing.[size=18]Trump: Asian-American community not at fault for virus spread

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Trump, for his part, continued to insist the virus would die out on its own. 'One day, it's like a miracle. It will disappear,' he predicted February 27.By then, experts say, the opportunity to halt the relentless spread of the virus within the U.S. population had been lost.On February 29, only 472 patients had been tested nationwide, with just 22 cases confirmed, according to CDC data. Of those, nine cases were not related to travel but had spread person-to-person within the U.S.By comparison, South Korea had its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on January 20, the same day as the U.S. Officials there used a test that focused on the same gene targets as the WHO test, according to the website of a test manufacturer. They then quickly permitted private-sector labs to run the samples. As a result, a nation with less than one-sixth the population of the U.S. mobilized to test more than 20,000 people a day.South Korea also instituted drive-thru centers, allowing quicker identification of those who were infected but might not be displaying symptoms, thus slowing the emergence of new cases to a more manageable level.

Meanwhile, the rate of U.S. infections soared.'The system is not really geared to what we need right now, what you are asking for,' Fauci conceded during a congressional hearing earlier this month. 'That is a failing. Let's admit it.'As public outrage over the lack of available U.S. tests grew, the FDA announced it would allow private diagnostic lab companies to produce new tests without preauthorization from regulators.Trump and HHS Secretary Alex Azar visited the CDC lab in Atlanta on March 6, praising the agency´s performance and promising 4 million test kits would be available by the end of the following week.That lofty number didn't match the ability of U.S. labs to process tests, however. Private providers were just then ramping up, while CDC and state health labs processed about 25,200 COVID-19 tests in the following seven days, according to CDC data.At the same news conference, Trump said he wanted infected passengers to remain on a cruise ship off the West Coast to keep the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. low.'I like the numbers being where they are,' Trump said, shortly before departing Atlanta for another weekend of golf in Florida. 'I don´t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn´t our fault.'Trump has also attempted to mislay blame for the testing troubles on the Obama administration. In 2018, Trump disbanded the White House directorate charged with preparing for and responding to global pandemics.'I don't take responsibility at all,' Trump replied when asked about the testing shortfall in a March 13 briefing at the White House.Morrison said Trump appears to see the virus as a political issue rather than a public health threat.'You can imagine a White House that said, `Do whatever it takes to test everybody for the virus,´' he said. 'That wasn´t the mentality. It was the opposite mentality, and ultimately the responsibility to protect the American people lies with the White House.'Trump and other officials have falsely said they declined to use the WHO test because it isn't reliable.'Quality testing for our American people is paramount to us,' Deborah Birx, who is coordinating the U.S. coronavirus response, said last week. 'It doesn´t help to put out a test where 50% or 47% are false positives.''It was a bad test,' Trump chimed in.Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesperson, told the AP last week that his agency had so far shipped 1.5 million testing kits manufactured in Germany to 120 countries around the globe, with no such problems emerging.'The test has been validated in three external laboratories, adapted by WHO and manufactured in line with international quality standards,' he said. 'It has shown consistently good performance in laboratory and clinical use, and neither a significant number of false-positive nor false-negative results have been reported.'Over the past two weeks, U.S. testing capacity has surged, with private companies joining in. LabCorp began providing tests March 5, and Quest Diagnostics followed four days later. Tests also are being conducted at individual hospitals and other centers.With the increased testing has come a skyrocketing number of confirmed cases, zooming from 43 at the beginning of March to 41,775 by Monday.Only in the last few days has the United States finally begun testing more people each day than far smaller South Korea, according to data complied by Johns Hopkins University.Jha estimates the U.S. should be testing 100,000 to 150,000 people per day - figures he said should be obtainable given the number of high-quality diagnostic labs in the country.'We certainly have the capacity. It´s just we're not doing it,' Jha said Thursday. 'We are up to about 40,000 tests per day now - and so we are moving in the right direction. Still far from where we need to be, but moving.'

[size=34]More than 100 people die of coronavirus in one day in America for the first time - as the nation records the highest number of new cases per day in the WORLD and 187 million across 16 states are told to stay at home[/size]

Michigan, Massachusetts, Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia all issued stay-at-home orders on Monday

There are now 15 states in the US that have issued stay-at-home orders to battle the spread of coronavirus

There are more than 43,000 people in the US with coronavirus and more than 550 have died from the disease

Experts say the peak will come in April and that the crisis could last 'several' months yet

Hospitals are scrambling to get ventilators and medical supplies before the wave of cases crests

President Trump has not issued a national stay-at-home order and he has not enacted the Defense Production Act yet to order businesses to produce the needed supplies

Instead, he is trying to make deals with the private sector to allow them to volunteer services and goods without restricting them

The US coronavirus toll surpassed 500 on Monday as the total number of cases went past 41,000 and fifteen states went into various forms of lock-down. The death toll from the virus in America is now 554, a sharp rise of more than 100 people in one day. Experts say the spike is yet to come and that the current state of crisis will last for another several months, at least. Over the past week, there have been a surge of new cases as testing across the country increases. On Monday alone, more than 11,000 new positive cases were confirmed. President Trump is yet to mandate a national lock-down because the problem is worse in some states than in others.Michigan, Massachusetts, Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia were the latest states to tell residents to stay at home and the city of Denver is urging its resident to. Now, 16 are under stay-at-home rules. New York and California were the first, along with Washington state.New York is by far the worst affected state in the country, with more than 20,000 of the cases in the US occurring there. An astonishing 12,000 are in New York City.Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the worst was yet to come and that we were currently in the 'calm before the storm'. Scroll down for video

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As of Wednesday, the number of new deaths per day was more than 100

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This graph shows how the number of new cases in the United States per day compares with Italy over the past five days

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The states are now urging President Trump to enact the Defense Production Act to instruct private companies to manufacture the medical supplies and equipment that the country desperately needs. He is resisting and is instead trying to make deals with the private sector which involves them putting together their own set of plans and commitments to address the crisis while still being able to thrive as independent enterprises. The president has also suggested that he will re-assess the national rules - to stay inside as much as possible and wash your hands - in 15 days. The Surgeon General has said already he does not believe it will 'likely' be enough. In New York, Gov. Cuomo said the crisis could last another 'several' months. He is urging Americans to 'settle in' to the current state of quarantine and to get used to it. On Monday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, closed all businesses that are 'not necessary to sustain or protect life.'

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There are now more than 187 million people in various forms of lockdown across America as states choose to shut down non-essential businesses to battle the spread of coronavirus [size=18]National Guard preparing to help conduct coronavirus testing

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Medical personnel in hazmat suits at a drive-thru testing facility in Indianapolis on Monday +12

The National Guard has deployed to New York and were setting up the Javits Center on Monday afternoon 'This disease can’t spread from person to person if we’re not out there. 'Right now, too many people are still out and about unnecessarily, so we must do more. 'If we all come together, get serious, and do our part by staying home, we can stay safe and save lives,' she said. Massachusetts also issued a stay-at-home order to its 7million residents. 'These aggressive social distancing measures put in place today are designed to give public experts the time they need to ramp up additional steps that must be taken to effectively push back the virus,' Gov. Charles Baker said. West Virginia has also issued a stay-at-home order. It was the last state to report a coronavirus case. Governor Jim Justice however is implementing the order starting Tuesday night. 'From the standpoint of cases, as of last night we had 16 positive cases in our state,” Gov. Justice said. “One of those cases is a lady in a nursing home. 'This is the first case we’ve had of community transmission and so this is really significant,' he said. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb told his constituents: 'I’m telling you, the next two weeks are critical — that’s March 24 through April 7 — if we’re going to slow the spread, and we must slow the spread.'

'It's going to get bad': Surgeon General urges Americans to 'come together as a nation' to fight coronavirus as former national security adviser says NY's numbers will continue to grow for 6 WEEKS - and the next 2 weeks will be the worst spike+12

Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned on Monday 'things will get bad' this week The Surgeon General has urged the nation to 'come together' to fight coronavirus and warned: 'This week, it's going to get bad' in a plea to the public to stay indoors and stop spreading the deadly disease.Dr. Jerome Adams appeared on Today on Monday morning to tell young Americans who are still going out and socializing despite being warned to stay indoors and distance themselves by 6ft.He fumed over the number of people still going out in large groups and referred to the shocking number of crowds he saw in Washington DC via a webcam set up for people to virtually enjoy the famous cherry blossom blooms.'I want America to understand. This week, it's going to get bad. We really need to come together as a nation. You're seeing young people out in beaches - here in DC.'The district set up a cam to watch the cherry blossoms. You look on the cam and you see more people than cherry blossoms. This is how the spread is occurring.'We really, really need everyone to stay at home. I think there are a lot of people who are doing the right thing. But unfortunately we're finding out a lot of people think this can't happen to them.'Dr. Adams said the US demography is younger than other countries. Nearly 30 percent of the cases were among people under the age of 45.'The demography seems to be very different in the US versus in other countries. There are theories that it could be because we know we have a higher proportion of people in the US and also in Italy who vape - we don't know if that's the only cause.'It's important for people to know: You can get this disease, you can be hospitalized from this disease, you can die from this disease.'Most importantly, you can spread it to your loved ones.'We need you to really lean in. That's why I reached out and I want to give a shoutout to Kylie Jenner who really stepped up last week and sent out a message,' he said.Dr. Adams also said the figures in New York - where there are more than 12,000 cases of the virus, more than five percent of the total cases in the world - reflect 'what happens two weeks ago'.'We don't want Dallas or New Orleans or Chicago to turn into the next New York and it means everyone needs to be taking the right steps right now and it means stay at home.'

Governors complain of 'disgusting' bidding war between states and the federal government for medical supplies as it's revealed surgical masks that cost 85 cents before the coronavirus pandemic are now being sold for $7 EACH State and city leaders have revealed that they are having to bid against each other for crucial medical supplies like ventilators and surgical masks because Trump won't put into action the Defense Production Act which would steady prices.On Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo led a chorus of leaders asking Trump to start nationalizing the system to allow the federal government to buy the supplies then distribute them fairly to where they needed to be.In order to do that, Trump must tell the manufacturers behind the supplies to make what the country needs, then buy them from them and divvy them up.He has not yet done that, saying he does not - as the president - want to interfere with businesses and their freedoms to produce what they see fit for the market.On Sunday night, he said: 'We're a country not based on nationalizing our business. Call a person over in Venezuela.[size=18]Andrew Cuomo to convert Javits Center to field hospital

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker have complained about the bidding war they are in for vital equipment 'How did nationalization of their businesses work out? Not too well.'According to The New York Times, he has been advised against it by the Chamber of Commerce which believes businesses need to be able to remain nimble and able to adapt - without being subject to government restrictions - during such uncertain times.But governors and mayors are crying out for it, saying they are being priced out of getting what they need.Cuomo revealed that N-95 masks - which cost 85 cents to buy before the pandemic - are now being sold for $7, an increase of 823 percent.Not only are the states having to bid against each other, but they are also having to bid against FEMA , representing the federal government- and all the foreign governments still trying to cope with their own coronavirus crises.'We have been scrambling. We're buying from China, we're buying from all across the world.'Can I say that we'll have enough equipment for next week? The week after? I can't say that, and that's out of our control. That's where we're going to need the federal government.+12

Donald Trump is under mounting pressure to enact the Defense Production Act 'To have states competing with other states, to find these equipment, bidding against other states, driving the price up, masks that we paid 85 cents for we are now paying $7. Why? Because California is bidding, Texas is bidding, Illinois is bidding, it makes no sense.'The federal government much nationalize the equipment production and supply issue,' Cuomo said.New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the 'opportunism' at play was 'disgusting.''I've been hearing stories last few days from my Emergency Management team where they expected millions of masks to come in and they had to tell me that somehow we got outbid somewhere else in the world and they're going someplace else.'The price gouging that's happening here and, bluntly, the opportunism by some, is disgusting.'So, there's not now a national mechanism for ensuring and there has to be. And I talked to the president, vice president about this.'There has to be a national intervention by the federal government to say, okay, here is the place first that needs the ventilators and the masks, here's second, here's third.'And that's where they're going to go. Not an open market based on who can spend the most money and make the quickest deal.New York is at least are at the top of the list to receive supplies because it has the highest number of cases in the US.'The price gouging that's happening here and, bluntly, the opportunism by some, is disgusting.'So, there's not now a national mechanism for ensuring and there has to be. And I talked to the president, vice president about this.'There has to be a national intervention by the federal government to say, okay, here is the place first that needs the ventilators and the masks, here's second, here's third.'And that's where they're going to go. Not an open market based on who can spend the most money and make the quickest deal.New York is at least are at the top of the list to receive supplies because it has the highest number of cases in the US.

[size=34]Senior citizens would rather die than see the country's economy ruined for their grandchildren, says Texas lieutenant governor amid outcry at Trump's promise to get America 'open for business'[/size]

Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, 69, urged America to open for business

He suggested he would rather perish than see the economy destroyed for his grandchildren during an interview on Fox News' Tucker Carlson Monday night

Patrick, who falls into the high risk category of catching the disease, says he and other 70+ citizens 'will take care of ourselves'

He said 'I'm all in' when asked to risk survival to keep American running

His comments come after Trump said he wanted re-open businesses in a matter of weeks - not months

Patrick's points contradict public health officials who suggest self-isolation and a lockdown to last several weeks

Texas' lieutenant governor has suggested that he would rather die than see the economy destroyed for his grandchildren due to the coronavirus crisis in a shocking interview Monday night.Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick rallied behind the words of President Donald Trump and pushed back on the advice of public health officials by urging America to open for business during his appearance on Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight. The 69-year-old, who turns 70 next week says that people at high risk to catch the contagious disease like himself 'will take care of ourselves'. 'No one reached out to me and said, "As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?" And if that is the exchange, I'm all in,' Patrick said.

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Texas' lieutenant governor Dan Patrick, 69, suggested he would rather die than see the economy destroyed for his grandchildren due to the coronavirus crisis in a shocking interview Monday night. The Republican firebrand, who was elected in 2014, pictured in June 2019

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'No one reached out to me and said, "As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?" And if that is the exchange, I'm all in,' Patrick said in the Monday night interview on Fox News' Tucker Carlson

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The 69-year-old, who turns 70 next week, says that people at high risk to catch the contagious disease like himself 'will take care of ourselves'. He said that he prioritizes a stimulated economy for his grandchildren over the coronavirus crisis that has devastated the stock market

JM Rieger

@RiegerReport

[ltr]Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick:

“What I'm living in fear of is what's happening to this country…‘Are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?' And if that's the exchange I'm all in"[/ltr]

5158:39 PM - Mar 23, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy

[ltr]

915 people are talking about this

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Patrick said there were lots of grandparents like him keen to see the economy in motion again and he doesn't 'want the whole country to be sacrificed' due to the outbreak. 'I've talked to hundreds of people ... and just in the last week, and making calls all the time and everyone says the pretty much the same thing, that we can't lose our whole country. We are having an economic collapse,' Patrick said. 'I'm also a small businessman. I understand it.' 'Let's get back to work. Let's get back to living. Let's be smart about it,' he urged. 'And those of us who are 70 plus, we'll take care of ourselves. But don't sacrifice the country.' His comments come after Trump said he wanted the economy to start up again and make America 'open for business' in a matter of weeks - not months. During Sunday and Monday press conferences the president has said that shutting down the country could be more devastating in the long run for the US than the virus itself. 'Our country wasn't built to be shut down. This is not a country that was built for this. It was not built to be shut down,' Trump said Monday.'My heart is lifted tonight by what I heard the president say because we can do more than one thing at a time,' Patrick said in the interview. 'Don't ruin this great American dream.'

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His comments come after Trump said he wanted to economy to start up again in a matter of weeks - not months. 'Our country wasn't built to be shut down. This is not a country that was built for this. It was not built to be shut down,' Trump said MondayTucker asked if Patrick feared an economic collapse more than the killer virus.'You're basically saying that this disease could take your life, but that's not the scariest thing to you, there's something worse than dying?' Tucker asked.'Yeah,' Patrick answered. The COVID-19 outbreak has devastated the US stock market. In the last month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has plunged over 9,000 points and officials are bracing for a spike in the nation's unemployment rate as workers are ordered to stay home and businesses are forced to shutter. Health experts and the Trump administration itself has ordered Americans to stay at home, practice social distancing, and avoid any chance of spreading COVID-19 as the case toll in the country climbs above 46,000. The CDC has recommended that there be no gatherings of more than 50 people for the eight weeks and that all adults over the age of 65 stay home if possible.

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Texas has more than 350 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nine deaths related to the virus. Two medical care workers at an urgent care facility in Arlington, Texas pictured Monday

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A car sits outside an urgent care facility in Arlington, Texas on Monday March 23Furthermore, experts have made it clear that social interaction, including going to work, contributes to a higher number of infections, as made evident in Italy and Spain, whereas countries that practice isolation such as China and South Korea saw cases decline over time. Patrick is a firebrand conservative and former talk radio show host who was elected to office in 2014. He was the Texas chairman of Trump's presidential campaign in 2016 and has pushed the Texas Senate that he oversees further to the right.Texas has more than 350 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nine deaths related to the virus.However, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has resisted calling a stay-at-home order for all of Texas but local officials in Dallas and San Antonio have.For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. Worldwide, more than 392,000 cases have been reported, and while most people recover in weeks, more than 17,000 have died from the virus.

[size=34]I WILL defy the doctors says Donald Trump claiming 'our people want to return to work' and 'seniors will be watched over' despite medical experts warning his back to business plan could kill MILLIONS[/size]

President Donald Trump said he can re-open the economy while protecting at-risk populations from the coronavirus

'Our people want to return to work,' the president wrote on Twitter

'They will practice Social Distancing and all else, and Seniors will be watched over protectively & lovingly. We can do two things together,' he added

Medical experts warned strict containment practices still needed

The World Health Organization warned the US could soon become the new coronavirus epicenter on Tuesday

Over the past 24 hours, 85 percent of new cases worldwide were from Europe and the US, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said

Asked whether US could become the new epicenter, Harris said: 'We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US. So it does have that potential'

'They [the US] have a very large outbreak and an outbreak that is increasing in intensity,' she added

The US coronavirus death toll climbed to 586 on Monday as the total number of cases surpassed 46,400 and fifteen states went into various forms of lock-down

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he can re-open the economy while protecting at-risk populations from the coronavirus despite warnings from medical experts that strict containment measures are still needed. 'Our people want to return to work,' the president wrote on Twitter.'They will practice Social Distancing and all else, and Seniors will be watched over protectively & lovingly. We can do two things together. THE CURE CANNOT BE WORSE (by far) THAN THE PROBLEM! Congress MUST ACT NOW. We will come back strong!,' he argued.

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President Donald Trump said he can re-open the economy while protecting at-risk populations from the coronavirus

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First responders from IU Health Bloomington hospital pick up a woman at the corner of 1st St and S. Walnut St who was sitting slumped over, and was saying she was having trouble breathing, and other COVID-19/Coronavirus symptoms in Bloomington, Ind.President Trump has begun advocating for a return to normal life even as medical experts give the opposite advice. His push on Tuesday comes as Congress closes in on a deal for a $2 trillion economic rescue packages for individuals and businesses hit hard by the coronavirus. The stock market rose Tuesday morning in the hopes the legislation will soon be passed and checks will flow into the pocket books of Americans. And Larry Kudlow, chief economy adviser at the White House, warned there will still be shut-ins and hot zones even if some ares become more open.'We're not abandoning the health professionals' advice, but there is a clamor to try to reopen the economy, and perhaps I'll call it less of a shut in. And so that's one piece that's yet to be determined, but it's one piece is being looked at. We still need the assistance because in the next week or two or three, you're still gonna have a lot of hot zones, you still got a lot of shut ins. There's no miracle here. We're not just flipping a switch. The assistance is so vital,' he told reporters at the White House Tuesday morning.President Trump has been clear he's worried about the economic affect coming from all the businesses being shuttered because of the pandemic. Numerous states have closed restaurants, gyms, bars, and clubs. The hospitality industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. States like California and New York have advised people to stay home as much as possible. And the stock market has tanked, erasing nearly all the gains it made since Trump took office. Politicians from both sides of the aisle have warned President Trump against an early ending to social distancing.'There will be no normally functioning economy if our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of Americans of all ages, including our doctors and nurses, lay dying because we have failed to do what’s necessary to stop the virus,' wrote Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney on Twitter. She went into voluntarily quarantine after possible exposure to the coronavirus.And Hillary Clinton wrote letting people die was not worth rescuing the economy.'It's incredible that this has to be said: Letting thousands of people needlessly suffer and die is wrong. It's also not a recipe for rescuing the economy,' she tweeted. Additionally, the World Health Organization has warned the United States has the potential to become the new coronavirus epicenter following a 'very large acceleration' in infections.

Over the past 24 hours, 85 percent of new cases were from Europe and the United States, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters on Tuesday. Of those, 40 percent were from the United States.Italy currently has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in the world with more than 6,000, after abruptly overtaking China - where the outbreak began in late December and 3,281 people have died - late last week. But the U.S. is on pace to become the new leader after its death toll climbed to 586 as of Tuesday, a sharp rise of more than 200 since Sunday. Over the past week, there has been a surge of new cases as testing across the country increases. On Monday alone, more than 11,000 new positive cases were confirmed as the total number surpassed 46,400.Fifteen hard-hit states are now in various forms of lockdown as experts say the peak is yet to come and that the current state of crisis will last for another several months, at least. Asked whether the United States could become the new epicenter, Harris said: 'We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US. So it does have that potential.'They [the US] have a very large outbreak and an outbreak that is increasing in intensity,' Harris added, noting that she expects large increases in case numbers and deaths globally, which currently stand at 392,780 and 17,159 respectively. The warning came hours after President Trump said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days and promised America will be open for business 'very soon'.

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Members of the Maryland National Guard control entry to a section of parking lot on the south side of FedEX Field that officials said will become a clinic for health screenings in response to the coronavirus

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The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that the US has the potential to become the new coronavirus epicenter following a 'very large acceleration' in infections. More than 11,000 new positive cases were confirmed nationwide Monday

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The WHO warning came after President Trump said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days and promised America will be open for business 'very soon' at a White House press briefing on Monday (pictured)

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As of Tuesday morning more than 46,400 people in the US have tested positive for coronavirus and 586 have died

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This graph shows how the number of new cases in the United States per day compares with Italy over the past five days [size=18]Trump says US will open 'much sooner' than three to four months

L[/size]

'America will, again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon,' President Trump said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing Monday. 'A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. Lot sooner. We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. We're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem.'As the president talked economics and down played the medical portion, he was surrounded by fewer than usual numbers of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Attorney General Bill Barr and Dr. Deborah Birx were present. Dr. Tony Fauci, the nation's foremost expert in infectious diseases, was not. President Trump complained about the caution brought by health care professionals, saying he told his team they would close the 'entire world.' 'I was telling them, if it was up to the doctors, they would keep it shut down, they would say "let's shut down the entire world."' You can't do that,' he said.Trump was asked if Fauci agreed with his emphasis on the economy. 'He doesn't not agree,' the president replied. And Trump wouldn't commit to listening to his medical experts when it comes to a final decision. 'Ultimately I have to make a decision but I certainly listen to them in a number of people. I have a lot of respect for Dr. Fauci and for Dr. Birx and I'll be listening to them and others that are really doing a good job,' he said. Trump announced a new set of policies on Monday, March 16, meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus, that included closing restaurants and no social gatherings over 10 people. He said that situation will be reassessed at the 15-day mark, which would be early next week.His comments on Monday were were met with outcry from medical experts including Tom Inglesby, a director at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security.Inglesby warned coronavirus will 'spread widely, rapidly, terribly and millions could die' if Trump lifts lockdowns in the United States early. He tweeted a thread aimed at 'anyone advising the end of social distancing'. The WHO epicenter warning came as:

New York state is expected to begin trials on Tuesday for hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug touted as a potential 'miracle' coronavirus treatment

US airlines are believed to be working on plans for a complete shutdown of all passenger flights across the country as air-traffic control systems begin to feel the effects of coronavirus

The Tokyo Olympics was postponed for a year after Japan called for a delay due to the coronavirus crisis

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This chart shows the number of daily new cases in China (red) and the US (blue), starting from the dates on which each country crossed the threshold of 30 new cases. Last Thursday, the US number of daily new cases surpassed China's peak

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The US death toll surpassed to 580 on Monday - a sharp rise of more than 100 in one day. Medics are seen carting a patient out of the Life Care Center, a nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, where 35 people have died since the US outbreak began

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Fifteen states have implemented various forms of lock-down to stem the spread of coronavirus. The National Guard is active in all 50 states - pictured here in Maryland last week

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Two members of the New York Army National Guard are seen directing traffic outside a testing center in Staten Island

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There are now more than 187 million people in various forms of lockdown across America as states choose to shut down non-essential businesses to battle the spread of coronavirus But the president said it would not be just an economic decision to reopen, promising medical experts would have input. 'We, also, have a large team working on what the next steps will be once the medical community gives a region the okay. Meaning the okay to get going, to get back, let's go to work,' he said on Monday.Investors have also warned that Trump's desire to rapidly reopen the economy despite signs the coronavirus is still spreading may backfire, with higher deaths and citizens remaining fearful of going out. US markets have been roiled by the spread of the virus in the country and as states have shut parts of their economies.Over the past 24 hours, 85 percent of new coronavirus cases reported globally were from Europe and the US, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris (pictured) said TuesdayNews of Trump reopening the US economy anytime soon would not be taken well by investors, who remain anxious about the coronavirus' uncertain trajectory and its economic toll, said Axel Merk, chief investment officer of Merk Investments.'Markets will react badly because they have learned that this approach doesn't work,' Merk told Reuters. 'From a medical point of view, you have to break the exponential growth and you do that with shelter in place policies.'Some experts have predicted the U.S. could experience up to 20 per cent or 30 per cent unemployment because of the coronavirus. The cost of a mistake could be deadly. A March 16 study by Imperial College in London predicts 2.2 million deaths in the United States in an unmitigated epidemic, with critical care bed capacity exceeded as early as the second week in April. Trump's push for a return to normal comes as the economy is tanking and Fauci warned that social distancing may last 'several weeks.'Additionally, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams warned Monday it get worse.'This week, it's going to get bad,' Adams told NBC's 'Today Show.' 'We really, really need everyone to stay at home.'He advised patience. 'We know it's going to be a while before life gets back to normal,' he told CBS 'This Morning.'

Somebody needs to shut the moron-in-chief up. Now his stupidity has directly caused the death of one man and put the man's wife into intensive care. They may not have been the sharpest tacks in the box for following drumpf's misinformation, but they didn't deserve what they got.

I wonder what drumpf would say if confronted by the story during a press conference. Probably call it fake news or a conspiracy.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo lambasted President Trump on Tuesday for sending only 400 ventilators to New York from the federal stockpile of 20,000 when the state needs 30,000 to battle coronavirus as he warned other states they would soon see a spike in cases of their own. Speaking at the Javits Center, which will become a temporary field hospital in New York City with 1,000 hospital beds, Cuomo revealed that the number of coronavirus cases across the state of New York had risen to 25,000 and 15,000 in New York City, overnight. He needs 30,000 ventilators to treat the wave of patients who will soon need care but FEMA has only given the state 400 from a stockpile of 20,000. 'You pick the 26,000 who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators,' he said on Tuesday in an angry plea to the government to share more. Cuomo's math was off: if every sick person who he says needs a ventilator didn't receive one from the federal government, the true death toll would be even higher at 29,600. He went on to say that Trump and the government have told him they will not release the ventilators 'because companies are coming forward who want to do it.' Trump boasted about the ventilators on Twitter, saying on Tuesday morning: 'Just got 400 ventilators to NYC!' On Tuesday afternoon, after Cuomo criticized him, the president spoke at a live Fox town hall where he said Cuomo 'had the chance to buy 15,000 ventilators in 2015' but didn't. The president is determined to get the country back to where it was by Easter, and says he wouldn't shut down for the flu so should not have to for coronavirus. Cuomo said on Tuesday that for him, the fight was about doing anything necessary to protect the vulnerable population. He agreed with Trump not wanting to keep the country on lock-down and said it was 'unsustainable', but that the economy had to come second to public health. New York is now so desperate for the ventilators that doctors have begun experimenting by having two patients share one at the same time.Scroll down for video +9

Gov. Cuomo fumed that he needs 30,000 ventilators but that only 400 have been delivered to the state of New York [size=10][size=18]'You choose who dies.' Cuomo slams Trump over lack of ventilators

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Four hundred ventilators will delivered to New York City by FEMA on Tuesday Cuomo fears the numbers are going to continue to rise.

Trump on Tuesday tweeted proudly about the 400 ventilators he had sent to New York He is urging the government to look at what is happening in his state and learn from the pandemic there in order to be prepared for other states. 'We have procured 7,000 ventilators - we need another 30,000. You cannot find them. You cannot buy them. 'This is a critical and desperate need. 'We're going so far as to trying an experimental procedure where we split the ventilator - you use one ventilator for two patients with two sets of tubes,' he said. Cuomo warned that the 'apex' of the virus will hit New York in just 14-21 days. He predicts the state will need 140,000 hospital beds including 40,000 ICU beds and 30,000 ventilators.OTHER STATES WILL BE NEW YORK IN JUST A MATTER OF WEEKS Cuomo described New York as the 'canary int he coal mine' of the virus pandemic. 'We have the highest and fastest rate of infection,' he said, adding that it was not because New Yorkers were any less healthy than other states but that it was the state doing the most testing and therefore producing the highest number of positive cases. 'We're just getting there first - deploy the resources here in New York for our apex and then after the apex passes here, once we're passed the critical point, deploy the ventilators to where they are needed.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio with one of the 400 ventilators on Tuesday morning at a Manhattan warehouse where they were distributed from

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Proxima surgical gowns were among the many supplies at the Javits Center, one of several field hospitals that will be set up in Manhattan

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There are also a large number of N-95 masks at the center. They are one of the hardest things to source

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Boxes of face masks piled high at the Javits Center in anticipation of the wave of patients that is expected in several weeks 'We are just a test case. That's how the nation should look at it. Look at us today. 'Where we are today, you will be in three weeks, four weeks, six weeks - we are your future and what we do here will chart the course for what you do. 'I'm not asking you to help New York just to help New York. I'm asking you to help New York to help yourselves. 'Let's learn how to do it right and right here - act as one nation here and we learn the lesson here, we will save lives in your community, I promise you that,' he said.THE PEAK IS COMING FASTER AND HARDER THAN ANTICIPATED

NEW YORK CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS

Since yesterday, there are 4,790 new cases of the virus in the state of New York. There are 2,599 new cases in New York City alone. Cuomo said the peak is coming faster than anticipated. 'The increase in cases continues unabated. The rate of increase has gone up, it's doubling every three days. 'That is a dramatic increase in the rate of infection. We were looking at a freight train - we're now looking at a bullet train. 'We haven't flattened the curve. The curve is actually increasing. 'The anticipated need now is 140,000 hospital beds and approximately 40,000 ICU beds. Those are troubling and astronomical numbers. 'They project at this time could be 14-21 days away - not only do we have a spike in the increase, when you spike the increase in cases it accelerates the apex.

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'We're doing everything we can on every level to slow the spread,' he said.There is an urgent need for hospital beds; the state only currently has 53,000 and Cuomo predicts 140,000 will be needed. 'I will turn this state upside down to get the number of beds we need. 'We're calling all professionals in the healthcare field - we want to enlist as many staff as we can and as many back up staff, because healthcare workers will get sick.' 'This is going to go on for weeks. We'll need a back up reserve staff,' he said. DRUG TREATMENT TRIALS AND AN ANTI-BODY TEST TO FIND OUT WHO HAS HAD THE VIRUS AND RECOVERED FROM IT Cuomo has also introduced trials for the anti-malaria drug that President Trump has touted as a potential treatment for the virus. He also announced a plan for identifying people who had the virus without knowing it by testing their blood for virus anti-bodies. 'The tests will determine if a person has had the virus and recovered without knowing it. It would allow them to go back to work and restart the economy,' Cuomo said.

[size=34]Dow surges more than 1,500 points as Wall Street bounces back from three-year lows on hope $2tr coronavirus rescue bill is close[/size]

US stocks joined a worldwide rally on Tuesday as optimism rose, for one day at least, that government officials and central banks are unleashing enough aid to ease the economic pain caused by the coronavirus outbreak.The Dow jumped more than 1,500 points and the S&P 500 surged more than 7% in midday trading as a wave of buying interrupted what has been a brutal month of nearly nonstop selling.Stocks had bounced back from three-year lows with the optimism was born in part out of signs that Congress and the White House are nearing an agreement on close to $2 trillion in aid for the economy.[size=16]+9

Top congressional and White House officials said they expect to reach an agreement Tuesday on the relief package, though some issues remain. Investors have been frustrated waiting for the U.S. government to do what it can to help the economy, which is increasingly shutting down by the day, after the Federal Reserve has done nearly all it can.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,130.26 points (6.08%), at the open to 19,722.19. The S&P 500 opened higher by 107.04 points (4.78%) at 2,344.44. The Nasdaq Composite gained 335.47 points (4.89%) to 7,196.15 at the opening bell.The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes had closed about 3 percent lower on Monday as a rise in US infections and lockdown in several states overshadowed historic measures by the Federal Reserve to boost credit in the economy.The market has seen rebounds like this before, only for them to wash out immediately. Since the market began selling off on February 20, the S&P 500 has had six days where it's risen, and all but one of them were big gains of more than 4%. After every one of them, stocks fell again the next day.Ultimately, investors say they need to see the number of new infections peak before markets can find a bottom.The increasing spread is forcing companies to park airplanes, shut hotels and close restaurants to dine-in customers. Altogether, estimates suggest at least 10% of the U.S. economy is shutting down, according to Rob Sharpe, head of investments and group chief investment officer at T. Rowe Price.Economists are topping each other's dire forecasts for how much the economy will shrink this spring due to the closures of businesses, and a growing number say a recession seems inevitable.[/size]

'Once we get that test, you're going to find hundreds of thousands of people who have resolved. Once they've resolved, let them go back to work. 'Let the recovered people go back to work. It's even better for the older, vulnerable people - and then ramp up the economy with those individuals. 'You're restarting the economy. Those two can be consistent if done intelligently. 'Don't make us choose between a smart health strategy and a smart economic strategy - we can do both and we must do both. 'It's restarting the economy and protecting public health,' he said. 'This is important for us to know because these are then health care workers who could go back to work and workers who could return back to the private sector,' Cuomo said Tuesday.It's not yet clear when and where exactly the test will be deployed, but Mt Sinai previously said it would begin using the blood test in its clinics.The new blood test will at least tell those workers when its safe to return to work and may indicate to others that they've already been infected without getting seriously ill and are now immune.'They may have been infected and resolved and never knew it, but if they had coronavirus and it resolved, now they have an immunity to the coronavirus,' and most doctors believe it could be for a 'significantly' long time, Cuomo said.Both he and Mt Sinai suggested the tests will first be administered to health professionals, but such testing could also help jump start the economy once it's available more broadly.Trump said on Monday that the country would be 'reopen' within a matter of days. He has resisted a national quarantine, saying some states are not as badly affected as others, and is working with business leaders to come up with the huge amounts of equipment needed. PROTECTING THE VULNERABLE 20 PERCENT - 'WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE MY MOTHER'Cuomo said on Tuesday that he was concerned about the vulnerable population who would not be able to self-resolve. 'Eighty percent are going to self-resolve. Twenty percent are going to need hospitals. It's not about that. It's about a very small group of people in this population who are the most vulnerable. They are older, they have compromised immune systems, they are HIV positive, or they have emphysema, or they have an underlying heart condition, or they have bad asthma, or they're recovering from cancer. Those are the people who are going to be vulnerable to the mortality of this disease, and it is only 1 percent or 2 percent of the population. 'But then why all of this? Because it's one percent or 2 percent of the population. It's lives, it's grandmothers and grandfathers and sisters and brothers.'And you start to see the cases on TV. It's a 40-year-old woman who recovered from breast cancer but had a compromised immune system and four children at home. That's what this is about. It's about a vulnerable population. I called the executive order that I passed Matilda's law - my mother,' he said. Matilda's Law mandates that anyone over the age of 70 must stay indoors at all times unless they are going to receive medical care. They can only accept visitors if the visitor stays 6ft away from them and is wearing a mask. 'It's about my mother. It's about my mother. It's about my mother. It's about your mother. It's about your loved one. And we will do anything we can to make sure that they are protected,' Cuomo said. CUOMOS' LOVE LETTER TO NEW YORK AND PRAISE FOR THE HEALTHCARE WORKERS DOING 'GOD'S WORK'Towards the end of the press conference, Cuomo became emotional as he talked about how much he loved the state. 'We're going to get through it because we are New York and because we've dealt with a lot of things, and because we are smart. You have to be smart to make it in New York. And we are resourceful, and we are showing how resourceful we are. And because we are united, and when you are united, there is nothing you can't do. And because we are New York tough. We are tough. You have to be tough. This place makes you tough, but it makes you tough in a good way.'We're going to make it because I love New York, and I love New York because New York loves you. New York loves all of you. Black and white and brown and Asian and short and tall and gay and straight. New York loves everyone. 'That's why I love New York. It always has, it always will. 'And at the end of the day, my friends, even if it is a long day, and this is a long day, love wins. Always. And it will win again through this virus,' he said.He also urged New Yorkers to give thanks to doctors and nurses if they see them.'Our health care workers, who are doing God's work. They are doing God's work. Can you imagine the nurses who leave their homes in the morning, who kiss their children goodbye, go to a hospital, put on gowns, deal with people who have the coronavirus? 'They're thinking all day long, oh, my God, I hope I don't get this. Oh my God, I hope I don't get this and bring it home to my children. 'You want to talk about extraordinary individuals - extraordinary,' he said.

I WILL defy the doctors, says Trump who claims 'our people want to return to work' and assures that 'seniors will be watched over' despite medical experts warning his back to business plan could kill MILLIONS

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he can re-open the economy while protecting at-risk populations from the coronavirus despite warnings from medical experts that strict containment measures are still needed.'Our people want to return to work,' the president wrote on Twitter.'They will practice Social Distancing and all else, and Seniors will be watched over protectively & lovingly. We can do two things together. THE CURE CANNOT BE WORSE (by far) THAN THE PROBLEM! Congress MUST ACT NOW. We will come back strong!,' he argued.His push on Tuesday comes as Congress closes in on a deal for a $2 trillion economic rescue packages for individuals and businesses hit hard by the coronavirus.The stock market rose Tuesday morning in the hopes the legislation will soon be passed and checks will flow into the pocket books of Americans.[size=18]Trump says US will open 'much sooner' than three to four months

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And Larry Kudlow, chief economy adviser at the White House, warned there will still be shut-ins and hot zones even if some ares become more open.'We're not abandoning the health professionals' advice, but there is a clamor to try to reopen the economy, and perhaps I'll call it less of a shut in. And so that's one piece that's yet to be determined, but it's one piece is being looked at. We still need the assistance because in the next week or two or three, you're still gonna have a lot of hot zones, you still got a lot of shut ins. There's no miracle here. We're not just flipping a switch. 'The assistance is so vital,' he told reporters at the White House Tuesday morning.President Trump has been clear he's worried about the economic affect coming from all the businesses being shuttered because of the pandemic. Numerous states have closed restaurants, gyms, bars, and clubs. The hospitality industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. States like California and New York have advised people to stay home as much as possible. And the stock market has tanked, erasing nearly all the gains it made since Trump took office.Politicians from both sides of the aisle have warned President Trump against an early ending to social distancing.'There will be no normally functioning economy if our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of Americans of all ages, including our doctors and nurses, lay dying because we have failed to do what’s necessary to stop the virus,' wrote Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney on Twitter. She went into voluntarily quarantine after possible exposure to the coronavirus.And Hillary Clinton wrote letting people die was not worth rescuing the economy.'It's incredible that this has to be said: Letting thousands of people needlessly suffer and die is wrong. It's also not a recipe for rescuing the economy,' she tweeted.Additionally, the World Health Organization has warned the United States has the potential to become the new coronavirus epicenter following a 'very large acceleration' in infections.

New York is 'pursuing' testing residents' blood for coronavirus antibodies, which indicate that they have had, recovered from and become immune to the virus, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday. Researchers at Mt Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine announced Monday that they had developed the first so-called serologic test for COVID-19 in the US, and plan to roll it out in the next few days in its clinics. Serologic testing will likely confirm what experts suspect: that thousands more people than have tested positive for coronavirus have actually contracted and cleared the infection. 'This is important for us to know because these are then health care workers who could go back to work and workers who could return back to the private sector,' Cuomo said Tuesday. It's not yet clear when and where exactly the test will be deployed, but Mt Sinai previously said it would begin using the blood test in its clinics. It comes as coronavirus cases in New York rise to 25,665 and US cases surpass 49,000.

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Mt Sinai scientists have developed a serologic test for coronavirus that can detect when someone has developed antibodies after being infected with the virus,

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Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that New York is 'pursuing' blood testing that will detect whether people have been infected by and developed antibodies to coronavirus

Although more than 81 percent of people who catch coronavirus are thought to only develop mild symptoms and recover from the disease, the remaining, more severely ill patients are still enough to quickly overwhelm US hospitals. New York is already on the precipice of that point. 'The apex is higher than we thought and it's sooner than we thought,' said Cuomo, who estimates that that peak may be reached in 14 to 21 days in New York. He and his administration now believe that New York may need as many as 140,000 hospital beds for coronavirus patients. 'I will turn this state upside down to get the number of beds we need...but we need the staff,' Cuomo said. As coronavirus patients flood into hospitals, health care workers are bound to contract the virus. Monday, New York hospitals were already reporting shortages of the personal protective equipment (PPE) and masks, further raising workers' risks of contracting COVID-19.

Cuomo said that a shipment of PPE and masks was being distributed to New York hospitals on Tuesday and said that no workers will be without protection - today. But it won't last forever. Health care workers will get coronavirus, and have to stay at home to keep from infecting vulnerable patients, leaving hospitals under-staffed. The new blood test will at least tell those workers when its safe to return to work and may indicate to others that they've already been infected without getting seriously ill and are now immune. 'They may have been infected and resolved and never knew it, but if they had coronavirus and it resolved, now they have an immunity to the coronavirus,' and most doctors believe it could be for a 'significantly' long time, Cuomo said. Both he and Mt Sinai suggested the tests will first be administered to health professionals, but such testing could also help jump start the economy once it's available more broadly.

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Hospitals in New York are already being overwhelmed by coronavirus patients, and the blood test would indicate when health care workers can safely go back to work

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Cases of coronavirus are quickly approaching 50,000 in the US, with the fastest acceleration occurring in New York - but more people are sure to be diagnosed across the country But it won't last forever. Health care workers will get coronavirus, and have to stay at home to keep from infecting vulnerable patients, leaving hospitals under-staffed. The new blood test will at least tell those workers when its safe to return to work and may indicate to others that they've already been infected without getting seriously ill and are now immune. 'They may have been infected and resolved and never knew it, but if they had coronavirus and it resolved, now they have an immunity to the coronavirus,' and most doctors believe it could be for a 'significantly' long time, Cuomo said. Both he and Mt Sinai suggested the tests will first be administered to health professionals, but such testing could also help jump start the economy once it's available more broadly. That would serve Cuomo's assertion and plan that both public health and the economy have to be tended to amid the coronavirus crisis - not just one or the other. Cuomo called the serologic assay 'a new level of testing.' Diagnostic testing for coronavirus has stumbled into existence in the US, and is only just becoming widely available across the country where the expansion of tests means thousands of additional cases are being identified a day.

Serologic tests are typically cheaper, faster, more reliable than diagnostics like the CDC's swab test, though they also serve a different purpose. People whose blood tests positive for coronavirus antibodies are unlikely to be re-infected and may be able to return to work, helping to restart the the US's largely paused economy. And when enough people's blood tests positive for these antibodies, it will signal to health officials that restrictions on movement, business and social contact can be relaxed without risking a steep uptick in the virus's spread. One of the greatest challenges to containing and understanding the coronavirus epidemic is the mystery number of people who may be unwittingly infected. If COVID-19 behaves similarly in the US to the way it has isn China, more than 80 percent of patients will have only mild symptoms easily mistaken for the common cold or flu: fever, coughing and body aches. One study conducted at Huazhong Unversity of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China - the origin and epicenter of the outbreak - estimated that at least 59 percent of infected individuals had o idea they were sick, didn't get tested and were roaming the city, exposing others to the virus.About 18 percent of the infected passengers on the infamous Diamond Princess cruise ship never developed even mild symptoms of the virus, according to a study conducted by Dr Gerardo Chowell, a mathematical epidemiologist at Georgia State University. By now, it's quite clear that people with more symptoms of COVID-19 are also more contagious.

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Drive-thru testing sites have cropped up across the US, including in California (pictured), but the serologic test will serve a different function. It will go first to health care workers to find out if they've been infected already and developed an immune defense against the virus

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Once someone is suspected of having coronavirus, their blood is regularly drawn, and these samples can be analyzed with the serologic test and it can show if they were infected 'a month ' before , the Mt Sinai team said [size=18]Girl films enormous line outside NYC hospital for coronavirus test

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But they're also far easier to identify and contain. It's silent spreaders and the uncertainty of who might be infected that makes coronavirus dangerous and makes sweeping restrictions on activity necessary. Since the early days of the pandemic - before officials would call it a 'pandemic' the World Health Organization has repeated that a serologic test will be key to painting a clearer pictured of how much of the population is really infected, and how serious coronavirus really is for most. Already, these tests have been developed by China, Singapore and South Korea and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed and is verifying their test. Now, the US, which has struggled so much to deploy swab diagnostic tests, finally has a blood test for antibodies against coronavirus, according to a preprint published by the Mt Sinai team last week. Mt Sinai uploaded step-by-step instructions for its test on Monday, to be used by other hospitals and research labs, Dr Florian Krammer, head of the microbiology labe that created the blood test told Leapsmag. These antibodies should be detectable after about seven days of infection. Dr Krammer told Leapsmag that patients suspected of having coronavirus have their blood drawn regularly, and these samples can be analzyed with the serologic test without doing a new blood draw.

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Once a significant proportion of the US has developed good immunity against the virus, measured by the blood test, it may be safe to lift restrictions like the lockdowns in at least 12 states across the US [size=18]Dr. Rowe shares tips on how to keep healthy in quarantine

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The serologic test can also detect antibodies in someone who is not currently sick, but had been a month previous. And if these people, or those currently infected, have high enough levels of these antibodies, they may be protected against the virus going forward. 'People probably cannot get reinfected once they mount a good immune response and have antibody levels,' Dr Krammer told Leapsmag. Once that is the case, these people are more likely safe to resume relatively normal activities, without risk of becoming infected or infecting someone else (if they've tested negative for the virus itself). It's still too soon to tell, however, how long this immunity will last. 'If a sizable portion of a local community has some protection, authorities can be more confident in relying less on invasive measures,' wrote former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. 'Once deployed, serological tests are cheap, straightforward, and easy to scale.'But the test won't be for everyone - at least not at first. 'It will be essential workers who need to be tested first, like nurses, firefighters, and doctors,' said Dr Krammer. 'It will be great to know that they would not put themselves or others at risk by going back to work because they cannot spread the disease.' Dr Krammer and his team don't yet know how widely the serologic test will be available, but they have widely distributed the instructions for the testing protocol, but their clinics will begin using it this week.

Contrary to what Trump says he and the federal government are responsible to do whatever is in their power to protect all fifty states from a national crisis. He doesn’t want to take the blame when the hospitals collapse from being overwhelmed. He will blame the states especially if they are run by Dems. Trump will never admit that he has failed at handling this pandemic. It is up to every Democrat, Independent and former Republican to tell Trump in November that he has failed as a leader, that he is incompetent and a danger to our country.

...and you and I might describe such action as an abrogation of responsibility....so I figure that's why he's leaving everything to the governors..........he clearly recognises that he can't do this.......some of the stories from patients - and young doctors - here are stark

Totally PAN. Trump and his people are lacking any coherent strategy. So he goes back to pretty much his original view on this pandemic. It’s overblown by the Dems and media who he claims are trying to take him down.

PAN - Why should he worry about his hotels? He'll just bail them out when they pass a stimulus package. I truly believe the only thing he cares about, other than his image, is money. When he was accused of being a racist a while back his son Eric defended him by saying it wasn't true because the only color drumpf sees is green. The only way to get him to help us out would be to convince him he'd make a profit from it.

I am so proud of our governor! Andy Cuomo has been stellar in all this. He inspires hope and confidence and has been more "presidential" than drumpf could ever dream of being. If drumpf needs to fear someone, it should be Cuomo. I'd vote for him for president in a heartbeat.

A Kentucky resident tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) after attending a “coronavirus party,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said at a press conference Tuesday.The age and current condition of the patient who tested positive was not released, nor were details about the “party.”Nonetheless, Beshear had some stern words for anyone considering similar behavior.“We still have folks that aren’t following the recommendations. And that ultimately hurts all of us,” Beshear said at his daily COVID-19 press briefing. “We have a positive case today from someone who attended a ‘coronavirus party.'”“And this is the part where I, the person to tell everybody to be calm, have to remain calm myself,” the governor continued. “Because anyone who goes to something like this may think that they are indestructible. But it’s someone else’s loved one that they are going to hurt. We are battling for the health and even the lives of our parents and our grandparents.”

“Don’t be so callous as to intentionally go to something and expose yourself to something that can kill other people,” he urged. “We ought to be much better than that.”Beshear continued to say that “we all owe each other a duty to protect each other, and we simply can’t have folks that are doing things like this.”“So, this is one that I hope I never have to report on again,” he said, adding that hearing about the “coronavirus party” made him “mad.”“This is something that no one should be doing across the commonwealth. My job in these press conferences is to talk to you about how we’re going to get through it — and we are — and that we’re going to do everything we can to protect the lives of those around us,” he said. “But this is one that makes me mad. And it should make you mad. Ultimately, the power of forgiveness, we get through this, we should forgive that person. But no more of these. Anywhere. Statewide. Ever. For any reason.”

RELATED: Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul Follow Ryan Reynolds’ Example with Donation to Out-of-Work BartendersAs of Tuesday afternoon, 3,022 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and 157 have tested positive for the contagious respiratory virus, according to Kentucky’s Department of Health, including the party attendee.There have been four coronavirus-related deaths in the state so far, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.The state recommends its residents to practice social distancing by keeping at least six feet away from other people, encourages churches to cancel large gatherings and urges business to allow employees to work remotely and to provide paid sick leave, among other similar measures.Schools have been closed in the state, and residents are asked to avoid all non-essential travel.Nationwide, there have been at least 49,619 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, with 615 deaths.As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub.

The Justice Department's number two senior official said that those who intentionally spread coronavirus could be charged with terrorist threats. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen's Tuesday memo came on the same day that Pennsylvanian authorities announced that they were charging a 57-year-old man with terrorist threats for coughing on an elderly man. North Middleton Township Police in Philadelphia have already charged 57-year-old Daniel Tabussi with making terrorist threats after he allegedly coughed on an elderly victim who was shopping at a Karns grocery store during a seniors-only time.

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North Middleton Township Police charged 57-year-old Daniel Tabussi with making terroristic threats after he allegedly coughed on an elderly victim who was shopping at a Karns grocery store during a seniors-only time (stock)

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The Justice Department announced that those who intentionally thread the virus could be charged with terroristic threats

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The elderly citizen is recovering from pneumonia and had gone into the store wearing a medical face mask and gloves at the time of the incident on March 20, KTXS reports. Police said the victim wore the items because they are at higher risk of contracting the coronavirus. Tabussi is described as having deliberately coughed near the victim while mocking them at the store located on the 1700 block of Spring Road.Authorities shared the man told the victim that he had COVID-19 on numerous occasions.

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On top of the terroristic threat charges, Tabussi has been charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassmentOn top of the terrorist threat charges, Tabussi has been charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. Rosen's memo to prosecutors and department leaders across the country warned that they may run into 'purposeful exposure and infection of others with COVID-19.' 'Because Coronavirus appears to meet the statutory definition of a 'biological agent'… such acts potentially could implicate the Nation's terrorism-related statutes,' Rosen wrote, according to Politico. 'Threats or attempts to use COVID-19 as a weapon against Americans will not be tolerated.' Additionally, the Justice Department has also set up a task force to investigate cases of hoarding and price gouging.

[size=34]Prince Charles, 71, tests positive for coronavirus and is self-isolating in Balmoral, two weeks after meeting Monaco's Prince Albert - who also has killer bug – and 13 days since last seeing Queen[/size]

The Prince of Wales, 71, tested positive yesterday and is in self-isolation at Balmoral Castle in Scotland

His wife Camilla is not yet showing any symptoms and is with her husband and is being monitored#

Charles last saw mother on March 12 at Buckingham Palace - she is in 'good health' and taking medical advice

Queen is at Windsor with Philip, William and Kate at Anmer Hall in Norfolk and Meghan and Harry in Canada

Prince Charles has contracted coronavirus and may have been contagious just 24 hours after last seeing his 93-year-old mother the Queen who has been taking medical advice since her son fell ill, it was revealed today.The Prince of Wales, 71, tested positive yesterday and is in self-isolation at Balmoral Castle in Scotland with the Duchess of Cornwall, who is without any symptoms for the virus, which has killed 422 in the UK so far.Charles has fallen ill just a fortnight after meeting coronavirus-stricken Prince Albert of Monaco, who tested positive five days ago after he sat opposite the Prince of Wales at a WaterAid event in London on March 10. Prince of Wales was last at Buckingham Palace on March 12 for investitures, where he 'briefly' saw the Queen, and his illness will raise fears for the health for elderly royals including his mother and Prince Philip, who are together at Windsor Castle. William and Kate are at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, while Harry and Meghan are back in Canada. A Clarence House spokesman said: 'The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Coronavirus. He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.'The Duchess of Cornwall has also been tested but does not have the virus. In accordance with Government and medical advice, the Prince and the Duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland'. The spokesman said it was impossible to say where he caught it from because of the large number of public engagements he has carried out in 'recent weeks' - but it will raise questions over whether he got it from Albert and if he has spread it himself. A royal source said Charles' doctor's most conservative estimate was that the prince was contagious on March 13 - 24 hours after he last saw his mother.A Buckingham Palace spokesman has said: 'Her Majesty The Queen remains in good health. The Queen last saw The Prince of Wales briefly on the morning of March 12 and is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare'.

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Charles was last seen with the Queen on March 9 at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey and saw her again on March 12 - 24 hours before his doctor claims he became contagious

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Charles (left) sat across from Prince Albert of Monaco at an event in London on March 10 - Albert tested positive on March 20 but Charles' team say it is impossible to know how he caught it after a flurry of public engagements this month

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Charles also stood close to his children and his wives on March 9 at Westminster Abbey, before he is said to have been contagious. William and Kate are at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, while Harry and Meghan are back in Canada.

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Prince Charles has been continuing to carry out public engagements despite the coronavirus crisis - but has avoided shaking hands, shown here using a namaste gesture at the Prince's Trust Awards 2020 on March 11

[size=34]Prince Albert, Boris Johnson and the Queen: Who Prince Charles has met over the past month and where[/size]

Prince Charles has carried out a number of engagements over the past fortnight at which he has had contact with possibly hundreds of people.Here are his movements around London over the last two weeks:

March 9 – Westminster Abbey: Charles and Camilla join senior members of the Royal Family including the Queen, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and other dignitaries including Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the annual Commonwealth Service

March 9 - Marlborough House, London: Charles and Camilla are guests of Commonwealth secretary-general Baroness Scotland at an event to mark Commonwealth Day at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

March 10 - Kings Place: Charles sits opposite Prince Albert of Monaco, who later tests positive for coronavirus, at a WaterAid charity event

March 11 - London Palladium: Charles, the president of the Prince's Trust, meets award winners and the charity's supporters including Ant and Dec at the annual Prince's Trust Awards

March 12: Buckingham Palace – Investitures include making Baroness Benjamin a Dame. Charles also meets the Queen in the morning.

March 12 - Mansion House: Meets London Lord Mayor William Russell and the High Commissioner for Australia George Brandis at a dinner in aid of the Australian bushfire relief and recovery effort

Since March 12 – Locations TBC – Charles has a number of private meetings with Highgrove and Duchy individuals, all of whom have now been informed.

Until he fell ill, the heir to the throne has been continuing to carry out public engagements despite the coronavirus crisis - but has avoided shaking hands, instead using a namaste gesture.But despite avoiding close contact with people he has caught Covid-19 - and it came days after a member of Buckingham Palace staff tested positive for coronavirus. The Royal Family appeared to have already prepared for the eventuality that one of them could be diagnosed with coronavirus, having been split up across Britain - away from London.The Queen is with Prince Philip at Windsor Castle, Prince William and Kate are at Amner Hall in Norfolk, and Charles and Camilla are at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire.Charles's last public engagement was on March 12, but he did have a number of private meetings with Highgrove and Duchy individuals, all of whom have been made aware.They added that Charles has not seen the Queen since before March 13. A small number of people living and working at Birkhall are remaining at the residence and self-isolating.The source said the prince and the duchess remained in good spirits, and the prince was up and about and not bedridden.Medical advice is that it is unlikely to escalate into a more serious case. Charles has spoken to his sons the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex, as well as the Queen.Charles had been displaying "mild symptoms" over the weekend before being tested on Monday.The heir to the throne's last public engagement was on March 12 when he attended a Mansion House dinner hosted by William Russell, Lord Mayor of the City of London, and George Brandis, the High Commissioner for Australia, in aid of the Australian bushfire relief and recovery effort.Sometime during the day the prince saw the Queen privately.He last saw the Queen at a public event on Monday March 9, when senior royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.[size=18]Prince Charles is sat opposite to Prince Albert at WaterAid event

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Charles' health has been relatively robust. Last November, the Prince of Wales was seen with painfully swollen hands and feet during the first day of his royal tour in India, sparking concerns for his health.

[size=34]Where are senior members of the Royal Family staying during the coronavirus outbreak?[/size]

The Queen: Travelled from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle on Thursday, March 19Prince Philip: Travelled from Sandringham to Windsor Castle on Thursday, March 19Prince Charles and Camilla: Flew from Clarence House in London to Balmoral in Aberdeenshire by RAF plane on Sunday, March 22Prince William and Kate: Moved from Kensington Palace to Amner Hall in Norfolk with George, Charlotte and LouisPrince Harry and Meghan: Staying on Vancouver Island in Canada with their son ArchiePrince Andrew: Staying at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great ParkPrince Edward and Sophie: Staying in Bagshot, Surrey

As he removed his shoes to step into a Sikh temple in New Delhi, the 71-year-old's fingers and toes were considerably red and inflamed.But the heir to the throne dismissed any apparent discomfort, which may have been caused by the nine-hour flight to South Asia.And in 2018, Prince Charles admitted he was no longer in the shape he once was.As he approached his 70th birthday, the royal joked that he knows ‘only too well’ the inevitable physical decline that comes with reaching such a milestone.‘I don’t know about you,’ he told a crowd of septuagenarians in Brisbane, Australia at the time, ‘but now bits of me keep falling off at regular intervals.’Charles has, certainly, suffered a catalogue of injuries over the years.When he met boxer Amir Khan in 2015, the pair compared battle wounds — and it turned out Charles had done himself more damage in his lifetime than the former world champion had suffered in the ring.In recent years, his catalogue of injuries include a swollen eye caused by dust from a tree, to a cracked rib sustained in a tumble from a horse and a non-cancerous growth which was removed from his face in 2008.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the first treatment in the US for the coronavirus that has infected more than 50,000 Americans: blood plasma from people who have cleared the infection. Blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients is rich in antibodies their immune system has developed to fight the infection. China began using the century-old method to treat its patients last month, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that plasma would be tested there to treat the sickest of the state's more than 25,000 coronavirus patients. The treatment may be the best hope for critically ill COVID-19 patients while scientists work to develop new, specific treatments for the disease and test experimental drugs like chloroquine and remdesivir.

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Blood plasma donated from recovered patients can now be used as a treatment for people critically ill with COVID-19, the FDA said Tuesday. The method is already used in China, where recovered people like Dr Yong Yuefeng (pictured) have given plasma to treat others

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Dr Zhou Min, a recovered COVID-19 patient who has passed his 14-day quarantine, donates plasma in the city's blood center in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. Plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients contains antibodies that may help reduce the viral load in patients that are fighting the disease (Chinatopix via AP, File)

'...given the public health emergency that the expanding COVID-19 outbreak presents, while clinical trials are being conducted, FDA is facilitating access to COVID-19 convalescent plasma for use in patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 infections,' the agency said in a statement, although officiails acknowledged that it doesn't work for every disease. The treatment was used to fight off flu and measles outbreaks in the days before vaccines, and tried more recently against SARS and Ebola and it just might work for COVID-19, too. Doctors in China attempted the first COVID-19 treatments using what the history books call 'convalescent serum' - today, known as donated plasma -from survivors of the new virus.Now a network of US hospitals that has been waiting on permission from the Food and Drug Administration to begin large studies of the infusions both as a possible treatment for the sick and as vaccine-like temporary protection for people at high risk of infection will be able to begin administering it. There's no guarantee it will work.

'We won´t know until we do it, but the historical evidence is encouraging,' Dr. Arturo Casadevall of Johns Hopkins University´s school of public health told The Associated Press.Casadevall drew on that history in filing the FDA application. The FDA is 'working expeditiously to facilitate the development and availability of convalescent plasma' a spokesman said.WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS POSSIBLE THERAPY?It may sound like 'back to the Stone Age,' but there is good scientific reason to try using survivors' blood, said Dr Jeffrey Henderson of Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, who coauthored the FDA application with Casadevall and another colleague at the Mayo Clinic.When a person gets infected by a particular germ, the body starts making specially designed proteins called antibodies to fight the infection. After the person recovers, those antibodies float in survivors´ blood - specifically plasma, the liquid part of blood - for months, even years.One of the planned studies would test if giving infusions of survivors' antibody-rich plasma to newly ill COVID-19 patients would boost their own body´s attempts to fight off the virus. To see if it works, researchers will measure if the treatment gave patients a better chance of living or reduced the need for breathing machines.One caution: While regular plasma transfusions are a mainstay of medicine, very rarely they can cause a lung-damaging side effect.COULD IT ALSO ACT LIKE A VACCINE?Sort of, but unlike a vaccine, any protection would only be temporary.A vaccine trains people´s immune systems to make their own antibodies against a target germ. The plasma infusion approach would give people a temporary shot of someone else´s antibodies that are short-lived and require repeated doses.Still, if FDA agrees, a second study would give antibody-rich plasma infusions to certain people at high risk from repeated exposures to COVID-19, such as hospital workers or first responders, said Dr Liise-anne Pirofski of New York's Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. That also might include nursing homes when a resident becomes ill, in hopes of giving the other people in the home some protection, she said.'We need both things desperately,' Dr Pirofski said. 'We need to be able to break the cycle of transmission and we also need to be able to help people who are ill.'[size=18]Trump shares updates on drugs to combat the coronavirus

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The FDA's decision comes as US cases surge past 50,000 and doctors become desperate for treatments - including unproven ones like Plaquenil, the anti-malaria drug approved only for experimental 'compassionate' use in the US WHAT´S THE HISTORY?These plasma infusions were used most famously during the 1918 flu pandemic, and against numerous other infections, such as measles and bacterial pneumonia, before vaccines and modern medicines came along. Long-ago research is sketchy. But in the Journal of Clinical Investigation earlier this month, Casadevall and Pirofski cited evidence that 1918 flu patients given the infusions were less likely to die. And a 1935 medical report detailed how doctors stopped a measles outbreak from sweeping through a boarding school using 'serum' from prior patients.The old-fashioned approach still is dusted off every so often to tackle surprise outbreaks such as SARS in 2002, and in 2014 when Ebola survivors´ plasma was used to treat other patients during the West Africa epidemic. Even during those recent outbreaks, strict studies of the technique were not done, but Casadevall said there were clues that the plasma helped.Casadevall thinks that when it didn't work, it may have been used too late. 'Somebody at the end of their lives, it´s very hard to affect' any disease at that point, he cautioned.A more modern approach is to brew this type of antibody in the lab, something Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and other companies are working on. Using blood from COVID-19 survivors is a decidedly more labor-intensive approach - but researchers could start banking the plasma as soon as regulators give the OK.

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Plasma transfusion has been used to treat infections diseases for 100 years. It doen't work for every disease but has been employed in China (pictured) to treat its COVID-19 patientsHOW WOULD DOCTORS GET THE PLASMA?Blood banks take plasma donations much like they take donations of whole blood; regular plasma is used in hospitals and emergency rooms every day. If someone´s donating only plasma, their blood is drawn through a tube, the plasma is separated and the rest infused back into the donor´s body. Then that plasma is tested and purified to be sure it doesn't harbor any blood-borne viruses and is safe to use.For COVID-19 research, the difference would be who does the donating - people who have recovered from the coronavirus. Scientists would measure how many antibodies are in a unit of donated plasma - tests just now being developed that aren't available to the general public - as they figure out what's a good dose, and how often a survivor could donate.Researchers aren´t worried about finding volunteer donors but caution it will take some time to build up a stock.'I get multiple emails a day from people saying, 'Can I help, can I give my plasma?´' Pirofski said.

Democrats indicate they are finally ready to sign the phase three economic stimulus package Wednesday, which includes a measure that prohibits Donald Trump's family businesses from receiving benefits from the coronavirus relief.Senators were finally able to strike a deal overnight on the $2 trillion rescue package to address the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, after Democrats blocked the first two versions of the GOP-backed bill.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a Dear Colleague letter early Wednesday morning that the new bill includes a provision to 'prohibit businesses controlled by the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and heads of Executive Departments from receiving loans or investments from Treasury programs.''Our unity gave us important strength and leverage in negotiations,' Schumer lauded.

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Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republicans have finally reached a deal on the phase three economic stimulus package, and the $2 trillion bill will be voted on Wednesday

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Democrats are specifically proud that the new coronavirus relief package includes a measure that bans Donald Trump and his family, including son-in-law Jared Kushner's businesses from receiving the benefits from the package or taking loans or investments from Treasury programs

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Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, sometimes called the White House, in Palm Beach, Florida. He vacations here several times throughout the year and has even changed his residency from New York to Florida

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Trump International Hotel in Washinton, D.C.The revelations of a deal came around 1:00 a.m. and brought an end to five day of marathon negotiations with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowing to get the deal passed in the upper chamber Wednesday. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we are done. We have a deal,' the White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland announced from the Capitol overnight. Congress is hoping to get the bill to the president's desk for signature by the end of the week as House leaders indicate they are looking at an expedited process to pass the relief package once it reaches their chamber.Schumer claimed Democrats were able to secure several other provisions in the package over the last few days by blocking the first two versions proposed by Republicans, even though McConnell claimed they were bipartisan in nature.In his early morning letter, Schumer lauded they were able to secure an extra month of unemployment insurance, $55 billion more for hospitals and healthcare centers, a ban on allowing companies to use relief money for stock buybacks and eliminating a $3 billion bailout for oil companies, among a list of several other measures.Although some Republicans may disagree with provisions detailed in the newest version of the bill, it is expected to have the votes needed to pass through the Senate.The hold up in passing the bill came as Democrats claimed the Republican version had major 'problems' and didn't even meet the minimum requirements they laid out for inclusion.Democrats also claimed the first two versions included too much support for bailing out corporations and businesses and not enough focus was put on directly assisting Americans economically affected by the coronavirus crisis.Republicans, on the other hand, claimed Democrats were trying to include measures in the package that they said had nothing to do with relieving those affected by the fast-spreading respiratory disease.McConnell, Trump and others lamented that Democrats were trying to get their 'wish list' passed in the bill, including parts of the Green New Deal, like setting new emission standards for airlines and giving tax incentives for companies that use solar and wind power.

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The number of coronavirus cases have skyrocketed in the U.S. over the last week, and now nears 55,000

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi returned to Capitol Hill Monday, she proposed her own version of the phase three package as senators struggled to reach a deal with the White House.Republicans had even more criticism for that version, which included putting aside $35 million for the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., a multi-purpose performance center.While the House hopes to vote on the new bill by Wednesday or Thursday by bringing it to the floor by unanimous consent, one lawmaker could screw up that plan by objecting to the request. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a champion of the Green New Deal, told MSNBC in an interview Tuesday night that she wants to see more done – like a moratorium on student loans and mortgage and rent payments.She claimed that $1,000 wasn't enough to help struggling families who still are responsible for paying these expenses despite potentially losing their shifts as businesses shut down during the outbreak or losing their jobs completely as companies struggle financially.The New York lawmaker slammed the bill for not including provisions that require companies who take money from the government's stimulus package to adhere to certain requirements, like being unable to fire their employees.

Cos that's probably what's she's asked for. She's not a publicity seeker in any way. Incredibly down to earth, no nonsense and very funny (and has been recycling her clothes for years!) - and an Olympic sports competitor to boot. She is also well down the pecking order for succession too and is incredibly like her mother in a lot of ways. And as you know the press love drama - so the Royal Family know how to play down things. After all if I think about it the Queen never expected to ascend to the throne in the first place - and in a way nothing phases her. Anne is very like that.

Their whole family is exceptional. Their father was a true gentleman in every sense of the word and his sons are following in his footsteps.

I'm surprised that you say Anne doesn't get press coverage because that's probably what she asked for. I'm sure other royals have asked the press to leave them alone, to no avail. Why do you think she gets special treatment? Is it because she's so far down the line of succession? Or is it because her life is too "normal" to be interesting?

Yep, I think you've said it really. She's normal - and does not seek publicity - and to some extent must seem quite boring, and would not be aiming to score high on social media. But she's been president of the Save the Children Fund uk and many other charities throughout her life and travels widely through the Commonwealth on many initiatives. I think if you look at the numbers of appointments she has she's very high on the list and of course steps in for her mother and father if necessary. And you'll notice that she rarely talks about herself!

People in my area are not allowed to visit relatives and friends in nursing homes at the moment. Which must be really hard for all of them but is decided as being necessary to protect the elderly people from the virus. Now a local nursing home reported that residents living on the first floor are visited by their families who don't use the entrance but have access via the garden. So they climb through the windows into the residents' rooms or hug them through the open window.The owners of the nursing home now call on the relatives to stop this because 'you're bringing death into our home'. One resident's family replied that their mother wouldn't understand it if they wouldn't visit her as usual.For this lady and her family it's important to see each other as usual. The nursing home knows that - if the virus would be brought into the home, it could kill many of the residents, so isolating them protects them.

She seems to do quite a lot, actually. She's easily as interesting as the younger royals. Are her children involved in royal life?

Carolhathaway - It's the same here in nursing homes and hospitals, too. Only the patients are allowed into the hospitals and friends and relatives are not allowed into nursing homes. There are always people who feel like the rules don't apply to them. They don't care if they put other people at risk.

Image copyrightCLAUDIA BAHORIK"Trace, test and treat" has been the mantra of global health bodies in tackling the spread of Covid-19. But innumerable cases around the country show it is a model the United States has failed to recreate."I'm still sick, it hasn't improved. I'm coughing, I've been feverish and my left lung hurts. There have been times the wheezing and the gurgling in my chest have been so bad at night that it's woken me up. There's no doubt I have all the symptoms."Claudia Bahorik - who is 69 and lives in Bernville, Pennsylvania - does not say this lightly. As a retired physician herself, she has done her research.But this is the story of Dr Bahorik's determined, though so far unsuccessful plight - involving clinics, hospitals and even a senator's office - to find out if she has the coronavirus.It all started as far back as the last week of February. Dr Bahorik had recently been on a trip to New York with her great niece, and soon after developed a cough and a fever, though it appeared to subside.She carried on as planned, performing jury duty, attending the funeral of a friend and travelling to Washington DC for a medical appointment.

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Trump says US tested more than S Korea - is he right?

While she cannot be certain when she got infected, in early March, Dr Bahorik became extremely ill."By 9 March I was coughing so hard and I could hardly walk, and at that point I really suspected I had the coronavirus."So began Dr Bahorik's quest to get tested, one that she documented.

Two-week timeline

9 March - visits family doctorClaudia Bahorik sees her family doctor who agrees that she should have a coronavirus test. The local health system's protocol requires that he first carry out an influenza test, a test for RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), a chest X-ray and some laboratory work to rule out other possibilities.She goes home to await those results.10 March - denied a coronavirus testThe doctor informs Claudia that while tests ruled out the other causes, Pennsylvania Department of Health did not give approval for her to get a coronavirus test.She does not meet the criteria of having known exposure to someone who had tested positive for coronavirus, or travelled to a country deemed to be high risk.Calls health officials and politiciansFrustrated and even more ill, Dr Bahorik calls the Department of Health. Despite exhibiting symptoms, and given her age and previous spells of pneumonia, they were inflexible.On protesting, a nurse suggests she speak to her congressman. She calls the office of Senator Bob Casey, where she is advised to contact the Department of Health.15 March - drives hour to testing siteAfter several terrible days of sickness, Dr Bahorik hears of eight coronavirus testing sites in the neighbouring county of Lehigh Valley.It is an hour's drive and she is feeling weak but goes to the test centre in Macungie, Pennsylvania.Denied test againOnce again she is told that because she had not travelled to a high risk country or been in known contact with someone with coronavirus, she cannot have a test.Having once been a doctor in the US Army Reserve, Dr Bahorik contacts her Veterans Affairs hospital. They later tell her that they do not have Covid-19 testing kits.By this stage, Dr Bahorik's chest pain and coughing has worsened.17 March - sent to hospital emergency roomClaudia Bahorik calls back her family doctor.She is told to go to the emergency room at nearby St Joseph's Hospital, where the clinician in charge has given assurances she can get a coronavirus test.At the hospital, she has to do another flu test and RSV test, this time, however, the new chest X-ray shows she has now developed pneumonia in her left lung.Finally gets coronavirus testDr Bahorik gets a test, though getting the nasal sample makes her nose bleed, covering the swab with blood.She is sent home with antibiotics and told to wait 3-5 days for result of the test.23 March - test results delayedDr Bahorik calls the hospital to be told that the wait for test results is now 10 days because the samples were sent off to laboratories that are currently overwhelmed.She has not responded to the antibiotics, and remains ill.

Who else could have been infected?

"They keep reporting that there are so few cases in my county, but they are not testing," Dr Bahorik tells me."I feel like I've done as much as I can, but that the system has beaten me down," she says. "I almost feel like I'm a lone voice screaming, 'Open your eyes, we have to do something about this!'"Dr Bahorik accepts that a test would do nothing to help her condition, but if she does have coronavirus she could at least definitively tell that to all of those that she came into contact with in the early days.

Is S Korea's rapid testing the key to coronavirus?

How Singapore stayed one step ahead of the virus

Two days in particular play on her mind; the day in early March on which she shared a room with dozens of prospective jurors, and the funeral the following day."There were between 50 and 75 people, a lot of them around my age at the funeral and I hugged a bunch of them," she says, clearly distressed."If I was carrying it then I could have infected up to 150 people just in those two days. A lot of my friends want to know the result of my test."But nothing has yet been done to trace where she might have got her infection or to isolate those she came into contact with.

Why does it take so long to get tested?

None of the hospitals or clinics Dr Bahorik visited were prepared to talk about the specifics of her case, but we did hear from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which had twice denied her a test on the basis she was not eligible."We were following established criteria from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)," says Dr Rachel Levine, the Pennsylvania Health Secretary who spoke of a gradual increase in testing capacity."We now no longer require a person to have known exposure or travel criteria, but we do still have priorities; firstly hospitalised patients, very ill patients and healthcare workers," she says, explaining limits in testing capability that remain primarily because of shortages in the reagents needed.

Media captionA doctor who became a patient describes what it's like to get tested for coronavirusNew York state, which borders Pennsylvania, has become the epicentre of the US outbreak with more than 30,000 confirmed cases. Governor Andrew Cuomo says the state has carried out more tests than any other.

Is it too late for a 'trace, test, treat' strategy?

Dr Levine acknowledged that the window had probably now closed on a South Korea-style approach of widespread testing (even of those who do not show symptoms), and trying to trace the path of the virus."That was a population-based protocol that was done early on in South Korea and in some other areas such as Singapore and Hong Kong. But in the United States, we did not have the ability to do that and we are now at a later stage in the pandemic for it to be effective," she says.Every day the White House issues assurances about the availability of testing and this country's unrivalled ability to keep the impact of the virus to a minimum.But it is testing that has been such a crucial element of controlling the spread of the virus in countries that are seen as having been successful in doing so. Anecdotal evidence from every part of the nation, like Dr Bahorik's experience, illustrates how difficult it remains for countless Americans to get a coronavirus test.Additional reporting by Eva Artesona

President Donald Trump on Wednesday complained the 'fake news' wants him to keep the economy shut down so he loses re-election this fall. 'The media would like to see me do poorly in an election,' he said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing. President Trump repeatedly refers to news stories he doesn't like or are unflattering to his administration as 'fake news' and he has grown visibly frustrated with stories critical of his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The White House has come under fire for the lack of surgical masks and ventilators needed by health care professionals.

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President Donald Trump complained the 'fake news' wants him to keep the economy shut down so he loses re-election this fall

Additionally, the president has advocated reopening businesses by Easter Sunday to help the tanking U.S. economy but several medical experts have cautioned that could be too early to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Trump complained about the media several times on Wednesday, both in his briefing and on Twitter even as he tweeted he was too busy in meetings for this. 'I have been packed all day with meetings, I have no time for stupidity. We’re working around the clock to KEEP AMERICA SAFE!,' he wrote. And he snapped back at a reporter who asked him about the issue. 'I think there are certain people who would like it not to open so quickly and they think that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls,' he told CBS' Paula Reid in response to her question. 'There are people in your profession that would like that to happen. I think it's very clear -- I think it's very clear that there are people in your profession that write fake news,' he told her. 'You do.'President Trump has staked his re-election bid on a strong U.S. economy. But the stock market tanked after business shut down and people stayed home to avoid spreading the coronavirus. The market wiped out all the gains made since Trump took office. Additionally some experts have predicted the U.S. could see 20 per cent or 30 per cent unemployment as part of the fallout. Trump defended his administration's response to the coronavirus. His team came under fire early on for not responding aggressively enough and for not getting enough medical supplies to hard-hit areas of infection.'They would love to see me for whatever reason because we've done one hell of a job,' he said, adding on to his complaints about the media. 'Nobody's done the job we've done, and it's lucky you have this group here for this problem or you wouldn't even have a country left.'Before he went before the cameras at his daily briefing, Trump fired off a tweet to complain about his press coverage.

'The LameStream Media is the dominant force in trying to get me to keep our Country closed as long as possible in the hope that it will be detrimental to my election success. The real people want to get back to work ASAP. We will be stronger than ever before!,' he wrote. Trump on Tuesday went all in on having Easter as the deadline to reopen the country's economy, calling it a 'beautiful time,' although he declined to name what kind of data he'd be looking at to make a decision.He said the Easter deadline - which is April 12, in nineteen days - was his idea. 'I thought it was a beautiful time. A beautiful timeline,' he said at his daily White House briefing on the coronavirus outbreak. But he didn't answer when asked what kind of data he based his decision on.'It was based on a certain level of weeks from time we started and it happened to arrive, we were thinking of terms of sooner. I'd love to see it come sooner,' President Trump said.The president, however, appeared to temper those words on Wednesday, saying he wouldn't make hasty decision and would consult with Dr. Tony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Deborah Birx, who is coordinating the day-to-day response on the coronavirus. 'I'm not going to do anything rash or hastily,' he said.He warned some areas of the country that are battling high rates of infection would likely stay under stricter guidelines. 'People want to get back to work. I get it from both sides in all fairness and maybe it's a combination of both - Tony said before, combination of both is sometimes very good but there are areas that possibly they won't qualify and there are other areas where they qualify almost now. We will have to see what happens but it will be an interesting period of time. I would like to get our country back,' he said.

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President Trump has grown visibly frustrated with stories critical of his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemicPresident Trump has been clear he's worried about the economic affect coming from all the businesses being shuttered because of the pandemic. Numerous states have closed restaurants, gyms, bars, and clubs. The hospitality industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. States like California and New York have advised people to stay home as much as possible.A decision on the matter is expected early next week, which would mark the end of the '15 Days to Slow the Spread' recommendations released last week.Those guidelines recommended no gatherings over 10 people along with eating take out and not going to bars.

An employee at a New York City hospital where nurses are forced to wear garbage bags as gowns has died of coronavirus.Kious Kelly, 48, died at Mount Sinai West hospital in Manhattan on Tuesday night, a week after he was admitted upon testing positive for coronavirus, according to the New York Post.Kelly was an assistant nursing manager at Mount Sinai West, which like other hospitals in New York and elsewhere has been hit by an urgent shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and isolation gowns.A shocking photo posted to Facebook shows three nurses at Mount Sinai West wearing black garbage bags as makeshift protective gowns.

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Assistant nursing manager Kious Kelly, 48, died at Mount Sinai West hospital in Manhattan on Tuesday night, a week after he was admitted upon testing positive for coronavirus

'NO MORE GOWNS IN THE WHOLE HOSPITAL,' the caption on the photo reads.'NO MORE MASKS AND REUSING THE DISPOSABLE ONES…NURSES FIGURING IT OUT DURING COVID-19 CRISIS.'In a statement to DailyMail.com, Mount Sinai Health System wrote: 'We are deeply saddened by the passing of a beloved member of our nursing staff.''The safety of our staff and patients has never been of greater importance and we are taking every precaution possible to protect everyone,' the statement continued.'But this growing crisis is not abating and has already devastated hundreds of families in New York and turned our frontline professionals into true American heroes. Today, we lost another hero - a compassionate colleague, friend and selfless caregiver.' At least four staffers who worked with Kelly have also tested positive for the coronavirus, and there are nine coronavirus patients being treated in the telemetry monitoring unit where he worked, according to the Post.

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'Today, we lost another hero - a compassionate colleague, friend and selfless caregiver,' Mount Sinai said in a statement when asked about Kelly's death

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Mount Sinai West has about 40 coronavirus patients scattered throughout the building, sources said.New York, now the U.S. epicenter of the outbreak, has at least 30,811 confirmed cases, nearly 18,000 in New York City alone. The statewide death toll is nearing 300.Kelly's nursing school classmate Annie K. Lee expressed her sorrow at his death in a moving Facebook post.'I still remember hugging Kious on graduation day. I am at a loss for words and cannot even begin to describe how sorry I am, that the world has lost a flame as bright as you, in this unforgiving Coronavirus worldwide pandemic,' she wrote.Lee issued an urgent plea to the public to support healthcare workers, writing: 'GIVE your unnecessarily stocked masks, N95s, N99s, gloves, isolation gowns, and Medical Protective Gear to your local hospitals.'On Wednesday, officials in New York City were taking grim steps to prepare for a potential public health disaster, new cases continued to emerge at an alarming rate and hospitalizations spiked.A makeshift morgue was set up outside Bellevue Hospital, and the city's police, their ranks dwindling as more fall ill, were told to patrol nearly empty streets to enforce social distancing.

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Armed military personnel and NYC Medical Examiner's Office set up white tents and refrigeration trucks for a makeshift morgue outside Bellevue hospital Wednesday

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National Guards are seen inside the Jacob Javits Center on Monday in New York City. The massive convention center is being converted into a field hospital[size=18]NYC Mayor confirms city has almost half of coronavirus cases in state

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Public health officials hunted down beds and medical equipment and put out a call for more doctors and nurses for fear the number of sick will explode in a matter of weeks, overwhelming hospitals as has happened in Italy and Spain. New York University offered to let its medical students graduate early so that they could join the battle.Mayor Bill de Blasio predicted on Wednesday that half of all New Yorkers will eventually contract coronavirus. New York City has a population of about 8.6 million. If the current statewide mortality rate held true, deaths could exceed 40,000 in the city alone if half of all residents contracted coronavirus. De Blasio said: 'It's a fair bet to say that half of all New Yorkers and maybe more than half will end up contracting this disease.'

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People make their way inside nearly empty Grand Central Terminal, Wednesday in ManhattanHealth commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot, added: 'We think 50 percent by the end of this epidemic, this pandemic, so by the time September rolls around likely 50 percent, but it could also be much higher.'De Blasio also told New Yorkers not 'cling to the false hope' of reopening by Easter after President Donald Trump suggested that date for lifting lockdowns. And he slammed Mitch McConnell for 'standing in the way' of the funding 'we need' as the $2 trillion economic rescue package continued to hit snags in Washington. Meanwhile, Governor Andrew Cuomo, again pleading for help in dealing with the onslaught, attributed the cluster to the city's role as a gateway to international travelers and the sheer density of its population.'Our closeness makes us vulnerable,' he said. 'But it's true that your greatest weakness is also your greatest strength. And our closeness is what makes us who we are. That is what New York is.'Read more:

Cuomo said on Tuesday that he was developing an anti-body test that could be used to test young people for coronavirus and if they have had it and cleared themselves of it, they should go back to work and restart the economy New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is launching an anti-body test that will identify in young, healthy people who has had COVID-19 and clear them to go back to work so that they can 'restart' the economy. It is part of his strategy to both revive the workforce and isolate the most vulnerable people who are still susceptible to the virus, and is still being developed. Cuomo announced it at a press conference on Tuesday but more needs to be done before the tests become available. When finished, they will take the plasma from a young, healthy person who may have beaten the virus without ever knowing it. In a one-two punch, it will not only clear them to go back to work because they will have proven immunity to it but the anti-bodies in their plasma can then be injected into sick people to try to fight it. Cuomo said on Wednesday that the country does not need to wait for the public health crisis to be completely over before it resumes the economy, and that both can be done at the same time if approached 'intelligently'. 'You can have an economic start-up strategy that is consistent with a public health strategy. 'I believe once we get that test, you’re going to find hundreds of thousands of people who have had the coronavirus and resolved.

'Let the younger people go back to work, let the recovered people go back to work. 'Ramp up the economy with those individuals....you’re refining your public health strategy and at the same time you’re restarting your economy. 'Those two can be consistent if done intelligently,' he said. Cuomo however said he is not prepared to risk even a sliver of the population for the sake of rebooting the economy. [size=18]Andrew Cuomo reflects on how to restart the economy

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Mt Sinai scientists have developed a serologic test for coronavirus that can detect when someone has developed antibodies after being infected with the virus,Researchers at Mt Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine announced Monday that they had developed the first so-called serologic test for COVID-19 in the US, and plan to roll it out in the next few days in its clinics. Serologic testing will likely confirm what experts suspect: that thousands more people than have tested positive for coronavirus have actually contracted and cleared the infection. Although more than 81 percent of people who catch coronavirus are thought to only develop mild symptoms and recover from the disease, the remaining, more severely ill patients are still enough to quickly overwhelm US hospitals. 'They may have been infected and resolved and never knew it, but if they had coronavirus and it resolved, now they have an immunity to the coronavirus,' and most doctors believe it could be for a 'significantly' long time, Cuomo said. Both he and Mt Sinai suggested the tests will first be administered to health professionals, but such testing could also help jump start the economy once it's available more broadly. But it won't last forever. Health care workers will get coronavirus, and have to stay at home to keep from infecting vulnerable patients, leaving hospitals under-staffed. The new blood test will at least tell those workers when its safe to return to work and may indicate to others that they've already been infected without getting seriously ill and are now immune. 'They may have been infected and resolved and never knew it, but if they had coronavirus and it resolved, now they have an immunity to the coronavirus,' and most doctors believe it could be for a 'significantly' long time, Cuomo said. Both he and Mt Sinai suggested the tests will first be administered to health professionals, but such testing could also help jump start the economy once it's available more broadly. That would serve Cuomo's assertion and plan that both public health and the economy have to be tended to amid the coronavirus crisis - not just one or the other. Cuomo called the serologic assay 'a new level of testing.' Diagnostic testing for coronavirus has stumbled into existence in the US, and is only just becoming widely available across the country where the expansion of tests means thousands of additional cases are being identified a day. Serologic tests are typically cheaper, faster, more reliable than diagnostics like the CDC's swab test, though they also serve a different purpose. People whose blood tests positive for coronavirus antibodies are unlikely to be re-infected and may be able to return to work, helping to restart the the US's largely paused economy. And when enough people's blood tests positive for these antibodies, it will signal to health officials that restrictions on movement, business and social contact can be relaxed without risking a steep uptick in the virus's spread. One of the greatest challenges to containing and understanding the coronavirus epidemic is the mystery number of people who may be unwittingly infected. If COVID-19 behaves similarly in the US to the way it has isn China, more than 80 percent of patients will have only mild symptoms easily mistaken for the common cold or flu: fever, coughing and body aches. One study conducted at Huazhong Unversity of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China - the origin and epicenter of the outbreak - estimated that at least 59 percent of infected individuals had o idea they were sick, didn't get tested and were roaming the city, exposing others to the virus.About 18 percent of the infected passengers on the infamous Diamond Princess cruise ship never developed even mild symptoms of the virus, according to a study conducted by Dr Gerardo Chowell, a mathematical epidemiologist at Georgia State University. By now, it's quite clear that people with more symptoms of COVID-19 are also more contagious.

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Drive-thru testing sites have cropped up across the US, including in California (pictured), but the serologic test will serve a different function. It will go first to health care workers to find out if they've been infected already and developed an immune defense against the virus

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Once someone is suspected of having coronavirus, their blood is regularly drawn, and these samples can be analyzed with the serologic test and it can show if they were infected 'a month ' before , the Mt Sinai team said [size=18]Girl films enormous line outside NYC hospital for coronavirus test

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But they're also far easier to identify and contain. It's silent spreaders and the uncertainty of who might be infected that makes coronavirus dangerous and makes sweeping restrictions on activity necessary. Since the early days of the pandemic - before officials would call it a 'pandemic' the World Health Organization has repeated that a serologic test will be key to painting a clearer pictured of how much of the population is really infected, and how serious coronavirus really is for most. Already, these tests have been developed by China, Singapore and South Korea and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed and is verifying their test. Now, the US, which has struggled so much to deploy swab diagnostic tests, finally has a blood test for antibodies against coronavirus, according to a preprint published by the Mt Sinai team last week. Mt Sinai uploaded step-by-step instructions for its test on Monday, to be used by other hospitals and research labs, Dr Florian Krammer, head of the microbiology labe that created the blood test told Leapsmag. These antibodies should be detectable after about seven days of infection. Dr Krammer told Leapsmag that patients suspected of having coronavirus have their blood drawn regularly, and these samples can be analzyed with the serologic test without doing a new blood draw. The serologic test can also detect antibodies in someone who is not currently sick, but had been a month previous. And if these people, or those currently infected, have high enough levels of these antibodies, they may be protected against the virus going forward. 'People probably cannot get reinfected once they mount a good immune response and have antibody levels,' Dr Krammer told Leapsmag. Once that is the case, these people are more likely safe to resume relatively normal activities, without risk of becoming infected or infecting someone else (if they've tested negative for the virus itself). It's still too soon to tell, however, how long this immunity will last. 'If a sizable portion of a local community has some protection, authorities can be more confident in relying less on invasive measures,' wrote former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. 'Once deployed, serological tests are cheap, straightforward, and easy to scale.'But the test won't be for everyone - at least not at first. 'It will be essential workers who need to be tested first, like nurses, firefighters, and doctors,' said Dr Krammer. 'It will be great to know that they would not put themselves or others at risk by going back to work because they cannot spread the disease.' Dr Krammer and his team don't yet know how widely the serologic test will be available, but they have widely distributed the instructions for the testing protocol, but their clinics will begin using it this week. Read more:

LizzyNY wrote:She seems to do quite a lot, actually. She's easily as interesting as the younger royals. Are her children involved in royal life?

Carolhathaway - It's the same here in nursing homes and hospitals, too. Only the patients are allowed into the hospitals and friends and relatives are not allowed into nursing homes. There are always people who feel like the rules don't apply to them. They don't care if they put other people at risk.

Are you and your family alright? Please stay safe.

HinLizzy,thanks for asking!We are okay, nobody's infected so far (as far as we know because you might be infected without showing any symptoms). My husband and I are still going to work, so our kids are only ones staying at home - all the schools and kindergardens in Germany closed two weeks ago. They receive homework via a very good internet platform and have to send it back the same way. All restaurants, pubs and public facilities are closed, and you're not allowed to meet others, neither in public nor privately. So telephoning is quite common (and receiving silly videos on WhatsApp, of course ).It's actually quite difficult for my parents to stay away from us (we live in the same house). But since they are 82 and my father suffers from COPD, it's just too dangerous. They also don't gobshopping at the moment, we get them everything they need when we are at work. But it's quite strange since there are absolutely no meetinfs or events in the evenings, so we are all at home every night which is very unusual.

In my area, 40 people are infected with the Corona virus, ten are in hospitals but no one in intensive care. But the numbers of infections are rising...